It’s been two weeks since I’ve done a hive inspection because I’ve been under the weather. Two weeks ago I noticed several small hive beetles so I knew before today’s inspection they would be worse today. I was correct. When I got home from the hospital last week I went ahead and ordered some traps […]

via June 4th Inspection — newbeejournal

Package arrived April 2nd. I took out about five frames and put the opened package inside with the queen placed on top of the remaining frames but with the cork taken out on the candy end so the bees could get to know her as they chewed their way to her. I put an empty […]

via Update! — newbeejournal

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve posted so I decided to give everyone an update, for those that are keeping up.

I haven’t been on the treadmill but the one time a few weeks ago.  It’s not the feet, it’s finding the time to get on there.  It’s been a very busy couple of weeks with three seniors around.  With award events, proms and other events such as birthday parties it’s been nonstop.  But, that hasn’t stopped me from doing what I can at work.  I’ve been taking the stairs instead of the elevators and walking upwards of 20,000 steps a day  and climbing around 20 to 25 floors a day.  Since I’ve started I’ve lost nearly eight pounds as of Saturday morning.  The bad thing is that, like this weekend with two birthday parties, it’s extremely hard to get my steps in on the weekends.  Next  weekend, just as this past weekend, will be a bust as far as exercise goes.  Saturday will be spent taking my daughters to where they’ll be going to college to try out for the band and later that evening we’ll be going to a band banquet with them. Sunday will be spent going to a spring concert that my daughters will be playing in.   I’ve got so much going on that I told my wife on the way to the party today that if it’s not on my calendar now, I won’t be going to anything else unless it’s an emergency.  I’m saying NO!!

And it’s been a rough couple of months.  I had hoped that this year would be better but it’s been far from it.  I won’t bore everyone with the details but I’m hoping for a turning point soon.

By this time last year I had already put several hundred miles on my bicycle.  This year, not to much as a single mile has been put on the saddle.  Thanks to the new cancer meds I just don’t have the energy.  Everyday is a challenge just to get out of bed and go to work. I look forward to the end of the day when I can take a shower and sit in my recliner.  My weightloss goal that I’ve set for myself for my kids graduation is so far out of reach right now that I’ve come to the conclusion that there is no hope in ever reaching any type of goal, ever.

Things have got to turn around for me, and soon.  Tomorrow I will try again to get on my treadmill.  The problem I’ve had in the past four months is that my feet won’t let me.  They hurt me so bad toward the end of the day but tomorrow I will not let that get in my way.  If I don’t at least try to get my weight down by the end of May then I’ll feel like I’ve let only my kids down but myself down as well.

I’ll let everyone know how that works out.

https://tchphotography.smugmug.com/Prints-For-Sale/Tannehill-State-Park/i-bDJRc3K/A

For those that are keeping up;  my parents are back at home and are doing pretty much everything on their own now.  They still are not able to cook much and basically they don’t have much of an appetite for food anyway.  My sister, as well as others, have cooked enough food for them to last a month or so and have frozen much of it so when they do get hungry all they have to do is nuke it in the microwave a couple of minutes.

Both mom and dad are off of the oxygen throughout the day.  However, mom still sleeps with her oxygen at about 1 ltr I believe.  They have also put away their walkers for good I’m told.  Dad is still having difficulty finding a comfortable place to sleep.  Neither one is able to lay flat on their bed so their both having to sit nearly straight up in order to get comfortable.  Dad often times gets up during the night and heads to the recliner and will sleep there for several hours.

Their lives has completely changed since the accident.  I doubt very seriously that they will ever get back to what I’d call normal.  However, mom keeps telling me that they are still here for a reason and that God has a mission for them to perform once they are able to get around better.  I can’t imagine what this mission would be but I’m sure mom will tell me when she finds out herself.

On a side note.  My daughters have been college hunting for quite some time now.  Once I think they have it figured out where they want to go my wife will bring up another school to consider.  I really wish she would stop doing that because we don’t have the money for one car much less money for two.  The wife and I have been praying for some sort of an answer as to which college to “push” them toward.  Since my son is about to graduate for Alabama university I figured it would be hands down which college these girls would want to go to.  I think they’ve known all along too but they keep going to these other colleges just to satisfy their mother.  We had an answer to our prayer this past Saturday.  Both my daughters not only got accepted into Alabama but they each have received scholarship money worth over $20,000.  For those that know math, that’s over $40,000 in scholarship money if they will choose Alabama as their college destination.  Guess which college they’ve sent acceptance letters to today?

We needed some good news in our household for once.  It’s been a long time since anything seemed to go our way.  There is some stuff going on with my health and my employment for that’s for another story.

Since my last posting, my parents have greatly improved.  More that I thought they ever would considering their circumstances.  After spending nearly two weeks in the hospital and another two weeks at my brothers house we finally moved them back to their home today.  Dad has graduated from his oxygen tank but is still with his walker.  Mom, on the other hand, has graduated from her walker but is still on 2 liters of oxygen.  She had some breathing problems even before the accident so this was not unexpected.  We’ve paid a sitter to stay with them during their time at my brothers house but today they’ve decided that no sitter will be needed.  At least for the time being.

After getting my parents settled in, I took the time just to watch them get around.  I have no doubt that they can get around without much of an issue.  Mom has an air hose from her oxygen generator that is long enough to go from her living room, to the kitchen, through the den and into her bedroom.  My biggest fear would be for her to get tangled up in her oxygen hose and take a fall.  My other fear is that she doesn’t have enough strength to do much of anything.  So, for the time being, someone else will have to cook and clean for a while.  They have several relatives that live in the area that have already volunteered to help so I think we have that covered.

Mom just turned 75 last Monday and dad will turn 78 in the last part of June.  My siblings and I find it hard to believe, after seeing the site of the accident and seeing pictures of the car, just how lucky we are to have them still with us.

Life is slowly getting back to normal.  I will continue to make daily phone calls and at least a weekly visit just to see how they’re doing and to make sure they don’t need anything. I have a sister that lives a lot closer than anyone else in the family so she’ll be checking on her on a daily basis.