Falling Apart

Whew! Another day done. Seems all I do these days is run, run, run, but I have decided I am not alone in this crazy life we live in. Today my right hip is hurting?? Isn't that something for old folks? I am only 55. But to some people, wow, she's 55 and that's pretty old. But to me, I should still be 35. 55 is still an age that sounds as if it only belongs to others. Anyway, about 4 weeks ago, I got a sharp, searing pain in my lower back. I don't think I did something in particular to cause it, it just CAME. Three weeks of countless visits to the chiropracter, one visit to my GP and a serious injection of cortisone in my lower back later, and I was up moving again. Back to my old self for about a week and pow, here comes something new. This is ridiculous.

Go to the dentist for a regular cleaning and HE determines I have an old filling that needs to be replaced. So make another appointment and back I go. $195.00, another needle or two, and at least my mouth is back to normal.

Woke up this morning with a splitting headache and the whole side of my face is hurting. Feels like a sinus infection or some such nonsense. Got up, did some OTC drugs and it went away after a couple of hours.

The sick list is a little long for me. It is 10:30 p.m. now. I worked today, took Mom to the grocery during my lunch time, took her to church tonight and am ready for bed. Ooh, ooh, pinch myself, am I dreaming? NOTHING is hurting. Maybe I AM 35 again after all. Sleep well, tomorrow is another day.

Professional Courtesy

Today was a most interesting day at the funeral home (as most of them are). I took a death call on the phone from a funeral director in Louisville as the family had requested that we take care of the burial part of the service. They wanted to have a graveside service here in my town and that was all, meaning no visitation or use of our facilities at all.

Customarily the originating funeral home will make the removal and prepare the remains, dress and casket the deceased for visitation and/or funeral service before sending along to us for the committal service at the cemetery. We would, out of professional courtesy, be afforded the outer burial container (or vault) sale. Everything is going along as smooth as sticky honey until I find out that there is going to be NOTHING done as far as a service in Louisville. GRRRRR. Trying not to dig too deep into how we do what we do, if the family chooses no visitation and no service in the originating city, we would do it ALL except the removal and preparation of remains. I just feel like we got the shaft this time in such a way that our firm would never have done. Tsk, tsk, tsk is all I can say. Okay, now I feel better.

Actually, the day was interesting before I got to work. Let me back up and make you smile. 55 year old woman hurt my lower back 3 weeks ago and am just now able to function and walk like a normal person. Hence after going to the grocery store the other night, I left 2 12-packs of Diet Coke on my steps going into the house from the garage thinking my next visitor, whoever he or she was, would be kind enough to bring them in. Well, in a frantic "I'm late again" mode this morning, of course I tripped over the Cokes and fell down the steps onto a big pile of Mom's "stuff".

Gets better, since I got old, I have to take an 81 mg aspirin every day to thin my old lady blood. Well, let me tell ya, it works. I have bled like a leaky faucet all day long. At least that may have helped decrease my blood pressure.

THEN, my much-anticipated i-phone that arrived a few days ago became my least favorite new toy. My daughter told me I had not set up my voice mail. I have a personal office techie geek (a/k/a Frank) who knows everything, so I had Frank show me how to do this. NOT working. Frank sends me to the AT&T store. Bad move when the customer service guy (and I use that term quite loosely) says, "you know, you're right, this IS a defective phone". I ask him to send it back and order me another one. "Oh no, I guess you'll have to call customer service on the phone, I can't do anything here." WOW........ So have you heard the one about the lady at the AT&T store this week. It was not pretty. In the end, "Rob" got them on the phone and after way too much wasted time, my voicemail is working. Still don't have everything up and running, but I'm menopausal and I can only take one thing at a time with this phone .

Mama Mia !!

This is going to sound like a movie review to most of you, but for me it was just a GREAT night out with girlfriends. I laughed and cried and left the movie with a really good feeling. I think all ladies of my generation should make the effort to see this movie, and if you can take your daughters with you, even better.

No, I did NOT have any illegitimate children nor did I raise my two children not knowing who their father was, so I do NOT relate to Meryl Streep in that way in this movie, but wow, she is the oldest lady I know that can still move like that. She just seems to get better with age. I am definitely going to make a committment to act crazier, if that's at all possible. Life is short, and getting shorter. On Facebook the other night, I did actually change my status to read that I was at home alone and singing out loud. Good for me.

Christine Baranski has long been a favorite actress of mine. She is just beautiful and is so hilarious in this movie. I want to be just like her when I grow up. And Pierce Brosnan, well, he was Pierce Brosnan. WOW, he's still got it and must be in his sixties, too.

What I came away with was reinforcement that I am "right on". People may think I do not always act my age and I say, "good for me", I am living my life.....

Parties at Polly's

Whew, another party has come and gone. I had a very successful Christmas dinner party for 10 or 12 of my closest friends, then came Mardi Gras time and I threw a HUGE party (in February...in the house). Umm. Lots of folks came. Shared lots of fun. Anyway, it just seems that I am ALWAYS planning to have a party or just had one. It is SO much work and does not come cheap. So why do I do this? WHY? Do I just want to be the one without a designated driver (because I live here)? Do I want to invite people that I know wouldn't get invited anywhere else? Do I just love all my friends that much? I think so to all of the above. I live alone and as much as I talk about how I love it, I must not love it all the time. I surely do love my house and love my company. The work is getting to me, though. Sunday morning I had to get up and scoot off to church and then work all afternoon just to get this place put back together. Lots of work. Will I do this again soon? Heck no ! (Ask me again this time next week)

Mondays

Mondays have for many years now, been the bane of my existence. I dread the day upon awakening, knowing that all those problems cropping up over the weekend, whether real or imagined, will be brought to my attention as soon as my arrival is noted at work. It never lets up and in fact, on many Mondays, seems to create more work than was there initially. Nevertheless, I trudge through it and Monday always manages to draw to a close and I realize that I have survived it yet again, amazingly. Payroll is first, unless something unbeknownst to me, jumps ahead in line, which is often the case. After payroll are the reports; a myriad of reports to generate ABOUT the aforementioned payroll. People to deal with and more people to deal with. And, of course, the telephone that never stops ringing on a Monday morning. Usually a funeral has been scheduled for Monday morning since most folks will put that off. The main reason for that particular item of note is the difference in cost. Cemeteries charge an exorbitant amount of money to bury folks on the weekend. NOBODY wants to work on the weekend, but they WILL, for a fee, of course. I heard you chuckle, but yes, for a fee you can get just about anybody to do just about anything. Hence the Monday morning funerals. Okay, it IS Monday, I AM at work and I do NOT have time to blog. I'm coming, I'm coming......

Letting Go

I was speaking with a newer employee earlier today and getting to know him a little better by sharing some past histories. In doing so, I discovered a few truths about myself. Being a divorced lady for some time now, I often find myself "explaining" to others what I think my differences in attitude are and therefore, how I became that way. It inevitably leads back to the divorce several years ago, but I see now that I have come full circle with this matter of forgiveness. I have been able to let go of unanswered questions, blame-placing and hard feelings. The feeling now is ambivalence and it is good. I truly have gotten on with my life. Someone asked where he lives now and if he is married again. My answer is consistent, " I don't know. It truly doesn't matter any more." I have let go. My faith and my family sustain me. Praise God.