Sleep - oh elusive sleep

I know, I know, I know!!! as you get older you're suppose to sleep a lot or not get any! But this is ridiculous! A couple, no three years ago I had a sleep study and the doctors discovered I had restless leg syndrome. I was put on a prescription which helped quite a bit but not entirely. The Rx was changed and I could really tell a difference.

Yet it seemed like I was still tired all the time and yawn excessively all day. Well now, a 2d sleep study has been scheduled, as well as my Rx changed again to the 3d medicine. I do think it's working even better than the 2d one. But my hubby did mention this morning that maybe I do have sleep apnea. "They" had said no before. But I have continual sinus drainage year round although some months seem worse than others. It could be the drainage fills my head so much that it temporarily blocks my breathing.

I'm waiting on the establishment of an appointment So we'll wait and see what we learn from that. I get tired of being tired and want to sleep on my days off. One Sunday I came home from church at noon - went to bed - got up only for bathroom breaks and supper then went back to bed. I didn't get up until 6:00 the next morning. And, I SLEPT, too.

Hopefully we're on the right track of figuring this out. Working full time really takes a big bite out of time to do anything at home!

The American 4th

I may have posted this poem before on here, but I am going to post it here again (if I did). It is a poem I wrote in honor and memory of a great grandfather who fought in the Civil War. But the spirit and intent of the poem could be said for those who fought in our American Revolution as well. I hope you enjoy this. Today is also the 150th anniversary of the close of the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Civil War Soldier

He clogs through the mud keeping in line
Carrying his gun, stepping in time.
Singing a rhyme, or humming a tune,
From daylight to dark and midnight to noon.

He has cuts on his feet and tears in his clothes.
His shoes are worn out and showing his toes.
His stomach is empty, canteen nearly dry.
His thoughts wander home, but dares not to cry.

"When will this be over, this nightmare, 'tween men?
I must do my duty, but wish it would end.
State against state and neighbors at war.
I hardly can stand this, can take it no more."

Yet the young soldier keeps marching on,
Some battles are lost and some battles won.
The snow keeps on falling and freezing his feet.
Or, the sun's baring down in scorching heat.

He's lost some of his buddies from sickness or strife.
He witnessed today, more than in the rest of his life
The horror of dying and violence at hand
Brought on by his brother and wielded by man.

His wounds are still hurting, he wished he were dead,
When news of surrender is brought to his bed.
He's weakened and broken but not lost his life.
Just one more walk is left and he'll be with his wife.

Now there is hope and reason to live.
The fighting is over, God's praise he did give.
He's witnessed how hatred nurtured the strife
This "brother's quarrel" has changed him for life.

The battles have ended and treaties are signed,
As peace settles down with the hope for mankind.
A house that's divided surely can't stand.
They must work together to help understand.

-Suzanne Guinn
22 February 2013

Getting old...

sucks! I've really noticed a big difference in my energy out put now compared to "then". Sometimes it seems like I take one step forward and two steps backward. I have been tired with no end in sight. And not the kind of tired of 20 years ago. That kind of tired I could rebounded from quicker than I do now. I came home from church Sunday feeling I could hardly put one step in front of the other. I went to bed for a nap, got up every few hours for a potty break and one time to eat a plate of supper, then went back to bed. I did not get up till 6 am the next morning.  Later that next day I came home at noon, still not feeling well (with some aches and pains). I went to bed and slept again till 6:30 pm!

But today...I actually was able to get out on my bike for a ride. Hubby aired up the front tire and I took it for a spin down the street. It has been several weeks since I've been on my bike largely because of work that needed to be done on the bike and having money to fix it. That done, today it all came together. I was actually able to ride the bike longer than I expected. But I have kept up my walking to some extent. So I think that helped. Hopefully now, I get two steps forward now.

Now if I could just get morethan that done. Maybe, just maybe, I will feel less tired and more energetic, suppose?

Mulling it over.

I have some random thoughts tonight...

It has been said that marriage goes through stages. In looking back over the last 40 plus years I will have to agree. Although I will have to say at this point in life I really never expected it to be as it is today. I have 4 wonderful children. I had great expectations. But the Lord and the children had their own ideas! I just assumed my children and my relationship with them would be the same as it was with my parents, and why not? We are in the same family! But alas, there cometh another who entered the picture and his DNA had equal share in having his say! So today, my children are more like the "other side's" family and I find myself sort of (mind you) on the outside! That doesn't mean this is right and that is wrong. It's just different! But they did makes some choices I didn't expect. One child has my personality, another has some of my characteristics, for good or ill. Yet some are so different than me! What an illumination and enlightenment! Redundant, I know!

So I have a choice: cry over my "losses" or accept what I do have and the love I know they have for me? They just chose not to necessarily do "it" the way I would have. And I'm always right,  you know!

I just finished watching the third season of Downton Abbey with a friend. The Dowager, Lady Grantham has some wonderful lines. One of them is "Families are not what they appear to be on the outside."

Well said, my Lady, well said!


This is enough "thoughts" for now. I'll leave the rest for later. Enjoy.

THAT PERSONAL ANNUAL DATE

Well, I had a birthday this week. You hate to see them come around and see those numbers ticking higher and higher. But the alternative is even worse. So I guess I need to accept I'm moving into the Old Age category - or at least the Senior Citizen stage.

My husband when he turned 55 started getting mail from AARP. But he wouldn't have anything to do with it. I thought it would be good to have a membership as there are benefits, even if I don't like some of their political views. He turned 65 last fall, so without question he signed up and signed me up, too. He didn't even ask. How does he know that I may have changed my mind and didn't want to be a member??! But, I hadn't actually, so I just smiled to myself and put away the card in my wallet.

When I got home from work the other day, I realized that I had left my driver's license laying on my desk. I keep it in a leather case with the debit cards I use most frequently. Consequently I had driven to and from work that day without my drivers license in my purse. My response to myself was: "You know you're getting old when..."  but it's a good thing this hadn't been the case a couple of weeks earlier.

I was driving home from work and noticed how bright red the driver's lights were in front of me. I hadn't seen any that bright. I glanced to my left and immediately back and realized the driver in front of me was stopping!!! -Hence the 'bright' red lights. I hit the brake but not soon enough to keep from making contact with the other car and giving them a push forward. Fortunately no one was hurt, not even the cars, only my pride!  That was my first thought of creating a list "You know you're getting old when..." One friend mentioned on Facebook (where I had posted the event) - it wasn't cause I was old, just tired!!

I think I'll go with that. I'm not OLD; maybe old-ER and tired!

My great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. The long marches and extreme temperatures took their toll on his health. He apparently kept a journal, I would assume, all or most of his life. I am in possession of three of them. 1881, 1883,1884. I am going to start posting his entries from 1881, here. I hope you enjoy these. I am getting quite an education. What I can't figure out or read, I put in a  ________ or three dots..., editorial comments are in [ ]'s.

                                                     Henry Wells Spear Journal 1881

Sat. January 1st 1881

Spring Mills, NY

Still but cold. wind west

Put out thermon'r [thermometer?] and it run down to -20° coming up to +15° by 2 pm.

            Could do but very little in the Mill, yet about three times as much as yesterday.

            Had no new years; dick's folks did not come down and every thing was dull all day. I did not realize it until it was too late to remedy it.

            Everybody so out of the village tonight - off to some family or other doings.

            Succeeded in collating my fragments for 1st S.S. ... and then made a revised copy to cool.

            We enter the new year with unbroken links of home --

                        The prospect for '81 are not favorable from a business stand point, but God knows all about it. --

            May this be a better and happier year.

Attention STAR WARS Fans

August 4th and 5th, the Rogers Public Library will be doing a marathon showing of the first three original Star Wars movies, as they were released: Episodes IV, V, VI. Saturday will be IV andV at 12:00 and 2:45. Sunday afternoon at 2:00 will be VI. Free entertainment, free popcorn and drinks, great movies and cool air conditioning. Come beat the heat with us! A great date or family event and doesn't even cost you a dime!!! How's that for enteretainment!

Couldn't have said it better!!

"The folks who are getting the free stuff don't like the folks who are paying for the free stuff, because the folks who are paying for the free stuff can no longer afford to pay for both the free stuff and their own stuff.

And, the folks who are paying for the free stuff want the free stuff to stop.

And the folks who are getting the free stuff want even more free stuff on top of the free stuff they are already getting!

Now... the people who are forcing the people who pay for the free stuff have told the people who are RECEIVING the free stuff that the people who are PAYING for the free stuff are being mean, prejudiced, and racist.

So... the people who are GETTING the free stuff have been convinced they need to hate the people who are paying for the free stuff by the people who are forcing some people to pay for their free stuff and giving them the free stuff in the first place.

We have let the free stuff giving go on for so long that there are now more people getting free stuff than paying for the free stuff.

Now understand this. All great democracies have committed financial suicide somewhere between 200 and 250 years after being founded. The reason? The voters figured out they could vote themselves money from the treasury by electing people who promised to give them money from the treasury in exchange for electing them.

The United States officially became a Republic in 1776, 231 (sic) years ago. The number of people now getting free stuff outnumbers the people paying for the free stuff.. We have one chance to change that in 2012.. Failure to change that spells the end of the United States as we know it."
...from an email "forward" - couldn't have said it better.

I recently saw this e-card, ...couldn't have said it better, either -

"Stupid Me! So that's why I work so many hours, so you can collect welfare, wear pajamas in public and have a(n) (free) iphone."

New Genealogy Websites

My great-grandfather fought in the Civil War. The long marches and extreme temperatures took their tool on his health. He apparently kept a journal, I would assume all or most of his life. I am in possession of three of them. 1881, 1883,1884. I am going to start posting his entries from 1881, here. I hope you enjoy these. I am getting quit an education. What I can't figure out or read, I put in a blank or three dots..., editorial comments are in [ ]'s.

                                                     Henry Wells Spear Journal 1881

Sat. January 1st 1881

Spring Mills, NY

 

Still but cold. wind west

Put out thermon'r [thermometer?] and it run down to -20° coming up to +15° by 2 pm.

            Could do but very little in the Mill, yet about three times as much as yesterday.

            Had no new years; dick's folks did not come down and every thing was dull all day. I did not realize it until it was too late to remedy it.

            Everybody so out of the village tonight - off to some family or other doings.

            Succeeded in collating my fragments for 1st S.S. ... and then made a revised copy to cool.

            We enter the new year with unbroken links of home --

                        The prospect for '81 are not favorable from a business stand point, but God knows all about it. --

            May this be a better and happier year.

Our Current Political Scene

Have you noticed how our current president was quick to criticize his predecessor for things he now takes credit for?

Have you noticed how he blamed the previous administration for bad unemployment, yet more are unemployed now then before?

Have you noticed how he criticize the man that left office when he went in for the huge debt we had, yet we are now further in debt today then ever before?

Have you noticed how he cuts down his opponents for being rich, yet a former (democrat) candidate (John Kerry) was wealthier than our current republic candidate?

Have you noticed how he wants you to spend, spend, spend, not save, save, save – because the more you spend – the more income tax the government gets from the people that receives your spending, and nothing when you save? YOU get the interest.

Have you noticed how little you earn in interest for your savings, discouraging you from bothering?

Have you thought about the fact that the less we save the smaller of a base we will have in order to enlarge our economy and therefore provide jobs?

Have you noticed how he plays on your sympathy for those who are disadvantaged? The government wants those people to become dependant on the government instead of teaching them how to stand on their own two feet.

The Democratic Party is a “party of parasites” – their opponents are producers, - investors of our future.

It’s not a sin to be rich. It’s the American Dream. Lets not penalize the rich, let’s help others to become rich as well. Then we can spread the wealth.

Let’s empower the people to care for their own, not turn to the government to do what the family should be doing. The government has proven to be poor business people.

When you vote this fall, stop and think about what the future will be like if you vote for the current 'status quo'. Is that what you want in your future?