When you have a pacemaker and/or defibrillator, the entire device is replaced when the battery dies.  Yesterday morning, at 7 AM, my chest played a little tune for me.  It was a high note, then a low note, repeating about twenty times.  I called my doctor and sent in a reading with a little machine I have.  Sure enough, Beldar (my pet name for my pacemaker/defibrillator due to the sense of having an alien in my chest) is dead and gone.  I was told my batteries would last five to six years.  They lasted two years, seven months, and 29 days.  If I live to be an old woman, that’s a lot of surgeries….and a lot of money!  (May I remind you I have a yearly $10,000 insurance deductible with $5000 out of pocket?!). I thought I would just have to replace it once before I got on Medicare.  But now, it looks like I will have to replace it three, maybe four times before I hit 65.  I sure am glad the cabin sold!  

I am supposed to get a call today to schedule surgery.  I think I will ask if another song could be programmed into the new one.  Hmm….My Heart Will Go On?  Total Eclipse of the Heart?? Listen to Your Heart???  Oh the possibilities!

Life is still good!

Two months have gone by since I moved to this ‘new and far away land’.  I am almost settled in…..new Tennessee license plate and all!  

I am still liking this ‘smaller living’.  But I have to admit–I still have this sense of being in a large hotel suite.  I’ve got my dogs under control, and life is good.  Oh, who am I kidding…..the dogs have decided to let me feel like I have them under control.  I am getting better at walking them on their leashes, although I have had to hug a few trees.  That is, they decided to go in different directions around a tree and back around, so I had to loop my arms around a few trunks to get them untangled.  I’ve also had to pick their leashes out of a few bushes when they walked hither and yon through them.  And, unfortunately…..and this is absolutely true…..I had to once hug a strange woman walking by to get them untangled.  She sort of chuckled nervously as I was apologizing while wrapping my arms around her.  I’ve also discovered these carpets most definitely will need to be cleaned when I move out.  I don’t know why I even dreamed that would not be so.  

Over the past several months, I’ve found that I am more resourceful than I ever knew.  I have replaced parts on a dishwasher and on a toilet.  I have unplugged a very stubborn disposal, repaired a few minor things on a refrigerator, put together some furniture, installed some pantry shelves, and removed some dead animals from the pool and Casey’s bed.  Yuck!!!   As far as I know, the pups no longer bark while I am away and my pacemaker has yet to start beeping at me.  Life is good.  I am happy.  And look again at my license plate.  Doesn’t it look like it kinda spells ‘joy’??? 

Today was a big day for this Plsek family.  Krystal and Casey had their evaluation at their day camp.

My pups have always stayed at a wonderful place named Pet Lodge Pet Resort when boarding is needed.  They get a private play time and a nature walk every day while there.  I will most likely continue bringing them there when I go back to Atlanta since they both love it  and are such good car travelers.  But I needed to find a comparable place here for when I am leaving town in another direction.  Like this coming weekend, when I am joining my friend, Ginny, and her family in Murray, Kentucky.  I found a lovely place in Murfreesboro called Safari Pet Resort.  They asked that I bring them for the day, free of charge, so they could evaluate them.  

I was so nervous this morning.  I brushed them and fluffed up their hairdos.  And get this….I didn’t even put makeup on, I was so intent on them making a good first impression.  We got there, and Casey, as anticipated, squealed with ecstatic glee as we drove up to the place.  Krystal shook and hunkered in a corner of the room as soon as we walked in the door.  I told them both to have fun and be a good boy and girl.  A staff member gave me the password for their webcam so I jumped back in the car and hurried home.  As I was driving, my cell phone buzzed and did its bling-a-ding, notifying me of a text.  My very first thought was that it would say, ‘Ms. Plsek, could you come back and get your kids?  They aren’t playing nicely.’  But it wasn’t Safari, just T-Mobile letting me know they received my payment.  I watched them on the webcam almost all day.  Casey would stroll by the camera often, looking like he was enjoying himself.  Occasionally, I would see Krystal slinking around the wall and, a couple of times, venture out where the other pups were.  Once, I turned on the camera and a girl was mopping something up off the floor and Casey was standing right next to her, watching intently.  I just knew he was the cause of the mopping….no one else was paying attention at all.

I picked them up and got their report cards.  Apparently, Casey’s best friend was Mojo, he was super sweet, and did all the activities.  Phew!  Krystal was shy at first but came out of her shell eventually.  Her best friend was Bailey and her favorite activities were belly rubs, lots of love, and playing outside with her friends.  Wait a minute….she also loved the agility climb, rope tug time, and jumping and fetching.  Huh???  Krystal is 13 1/2 years old, about to lose some teeth, and can barely get down off the couch without help.  I think someone embellished the grades for my girl.  Maybe they didn’t want to hurt her self-esteem.

Next time they go, the doggy Xanax will come out of the cupboard.

I just returned from a five day trip back to Georgia.  One of the reasons for going back was our annual “March Angel” birthday lunch at the Sundial restaurant in downtown Atlanta.  Nan and Donna, two friends of mine, and I all have March birthdays so several years ago, we started our tradition.  This year was particularly interesting.  A convention was being held at the Westin, which is where the restaurant is located.   It was Fur Fest……an assemblage of people who like to dress as animals.  It was an interesting group of people, from the fellow with the multicolored tail coming out of his pants, to the guy with very large, very expensive looking bear feet.  I looked at their website and noted that their guest of honor was Yippee Coyote.  Their schedule of events ran the gamut, from a session on personal finance and discussions of the federal budget, debt ceiling, and eurozone crisis to a fursuit dance competition to a poker tournament.  Some of the guest speakers were Doctor Fox, Electropaw,  Lazer Hyena, Tiger Nick, and Tyr Kangaroo.  I can’t help but wonder at what point in life does one decide to dress as an animal.  Do you wake up one day and think “hmm, I think I’ll put on a big fake horse head today.”  I admit, I do wake up some days longing for a doggy door, but I’ve yet to want to dress as if I need to USE a doggy door.

Speaking of animals, the REAL ones, I wondered how the pups would do going back to their old home.  I have discovered they are wonderful car travelers.  I never hear a peep from them the entire drive!  It was a different story once we got to the house.  They remembered to use the doggy door (yessss!) and seemed to go with the flow for a while.  Then, when we went to bed, Krystal started with the lectures again.  

Krystal:  Sooooo……what are we doing back here???

Me:  We’re just here for a few days.  Don’t you like being back here?

Casey:  smile, wag, wag, wag…….

Krystal:  Would you please just make up your mind???!!!  Get me up on the bed….

Me:  Ok, guys….let’s go to sleep.

Five minutes later….

Krystal:  I need to get down now.  A little help please???

Me:  Oh, ya wanna sleep down there?  Here ya go!  Goodnight….

Ten minutes later…..

Krystal:  Get me back up now….ya know if we were back at the apartment, I wouldn’t have so much trouble with this…….

Me:  I know, I know….. Ok….goodnight….

Another ten minutes pass….

Krystal:  Gotta get down again.  Come over here and put me on the floor.   I think I’ll pee on her new carpet just to show her….

I didn’t hear that last comment until it was too late.

Another ten minutes, repeat….and over, and over, and……

Let’s just say we didn’t get much sleep.

Well, Casey did.

True story.  I dreamed last night that, along with two other people, I was elected pope.  I was led to my bedroom and they were making me put on all these funky undergarments under my long white robes.  There were bunk beds and tons of hats all over the walls, none of them being papal hats.  Now, this is wrong on so many levels.

First, I sometimes have trouble sleeping on MY bed.  No way will I be able to sleep on a bunk bed!  And of course the small detail that I am a woman.  Oh, and this may come as somewhat of a surprise, but I’m not a Cardinal (the standard pre-papal post) in the Catholic Church. In fact, I’m not even a Catholic in the Catholic Church!  And three of us? It’s kinda hard to be infallible with two other people disagreeing with me!  In my dream, I was thinking I would have to get lessons in the Italian language so I could bless the local people.  I was also concerned that I had no cool hat to add to the wall.

I guess my absolute biggest concern was…..I need a WAY better bra than the old fashioned thing they were making me put on!  

No, I really don’t think being pope is the purpose God has in mind for me!

Today, I turned 57 years old.  And I have no idea what I want to be when I grow up.  I’ve always believed that people have a purpose in this life.  If you have no purpose, you have no life.  For 28 years, I had no doubt whatsoever what my purpose was– to be mom (and a LOT of the time dad, due to Paul’s travel schedule) to my two sons, Jonathan and Ryan.  Since my boys are ten years apart, when Jonathan was 18 and heading off for college, I still had an eight year old who needed mothering.  I saw it as a great privilege to be able to be a stay-at-home mother.  I enjoyed being soccer team mom, room mother during their elementary school years, Sunday School teacher, etc.  I wanted to be a mother first and foremost all of my life, ever since I was a little girl.  I got dolls for Christmas every year until I was eleven or twelve years old.  I wanted to practice!  

But eventually, I was forced into retirement.  Now that both boys are grown and married, I don’t get the call so often to be their soccer team mom.  Oh they still need me, they just don’t NEED me.  Therefore, I find myself at crossroads in life.

Now I am absolutely sure I still have a purpose.  In my last post, I spoke of several brushes with death.  Five to be exact, with some being brushier than others.  The first, which was most likely my brushiest, was when I drank gasoline at 16 months of age.  I don’t remember that too well, but I do remember when my appendix ruptured around my 30th birthday.  I spent two weeks in the hospital that time.  Then more recently, about six years ago, my heart decided it was tired of doing its job.  That probably was almost as brushy as the gasoline incident.  Anyway, I now have a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted and I take a handful of pills and feel almost normal.  Even more recently, about two and a half years ago, the docs thought I had ovarian cancer.  Surgery was done by an oncologist, and it turned out to be benign.  Lastly, and my least brushy so far, was the discovery of a melanoma on my arm.  Yes, I was a sun worshipper back in the day, and now my skin is paying the price.  I’ve also had two skin cancers on my shin, but they were minor types so I don’t consider them brushes at all.  

All of this is to say—-I’m still here!  If I had no purpose, I should have left this world when I was 16 months…or 30 years…or three times in the past six years!  I can think of small purposes right now….being a friend, being a daughter, being an occasional caregiver.  But I’m still looking for that grand purpose, that rivals being a mom.  I know it’s out there.  I just have to try to be patient and let God lead me to it!

Hmm….maybe I should go to college!  I could pledge a sorority, join the drill team….oh the possibilities!!!

Last night, I had a wonderful date. I met this guy a long time ago, and I just love him to death! He loves me, too….he can’t keep his hands off of me! He loves to talk and always wants to do things with me. I can tell I am very special to him, as he is to me. Oh, and he is sooooo cute!!!

He came over and we had dinner and watched a movie together. We decided to cook together and we made some chocolate chip cookies that were to die for. But I was nice, and I let him take some home this morning. Yes, that’s right….I let him spend the night with me. We had such a good time! I know we will do it again soon!

Here’s a picture of us together…

It has been nearly a month since I left for my adventure.  During that month, there have been a few challenges, but mostly I have come to realize I am never too old to learn new things.

I have learned how to clean house again.  I admit, I have been quite spoiled over the past two and a half decades.  When I was pregnant with my youngest son, Ryan, I decided to get help with the housework, even if I had to eat oatmeal twice a week for dinner to pay for it.  So until I moved here, I had house cleaners take care of the weekly or bi-weekly chores.  The only reason I even owned a vacuum was because once, many years ago, our friends from England, Lynne and Steve, were staying with us and Lynne casually asked what kind of ‘hoover’ I owned (the British word for vacuum, like we say Kleenex for tissue) and I was embarrassed that I didn’t even own one.  Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and my friend Judy pulled it out to help out, and it took both of us to figure out how to turn the thing on!  I’ve also learned that you can’t clean bathroom mirrors with the same product you clean toilets.  

I’ve learned that I really like living in a small space.  While I still have this sense that I am staying in a nice hotel suite, it has been so nice to be able to get out of bed, go to the bathroom, then to the living room sofa all in about ten steps.  The bedroom in Roswell was–as my two and a half year old friend, Ellaree, says–humongous!  It took about thirty steps just to get from my side of the bed to the toilet.  Then the trek downstairs.  Yep, loving this smaller space for sure!

I’ve learned how to walk two dogs.  Easier said than done.  In Roswell, since I had the doggy door for their bathroom needs, I would walk them on a split leash, with me holding just one leash with two short ones splitting at the bottom, so they walked closely side by side.  Now, I put them on two separate, 16 foot, retractable leashes so they can have their privacy from each other when needed.  If they walked in the same general direction, it would be easier.  But I am constantly having to switch hands, swing one leash around my back, or the best, around the back, under the left leg, switch hands, under the right leg, then a full circle.  I’m getting quite adept at it.  On that note,  I have also learned it’s best to just stay put and watch while Krystal does number two before picking up. As I said before in an earlier post, she is a walking pooper.  If I run and start picking up as soon as she starts, it becomes like an Easter egg hunt trying to find the rest of it.

I have learned that, in spite of having many brushes with death in my life (more on that in another post) and having four major heartbreaks in my life, I am a happy person.  I’ve always been an optimist to a very real fault, and I’m not saying I haven’t had some down times in my life.  But I am happy and feel very, very blessed.

I’ve also learned that I really, REALLY like doggy doors.

Casey is my cuddly, not-so-smart pup who is almost nine years old.  I say not-so-smart in the most loving way, of course, as any mom would.  Once, after Jonathan took the fence down around the pool, Casey got ‘stuck’ behind the gate that hadn’t been removed yet.  Krystal saw his confusion and walked over and showed him the way around the gate.  Another time, we were at the cabin and the sliding glass door was partially open.  He went out onto the deck, then tried to come back and got ‘stuck’ behind the part that wasn’t open.  Again, Krystal came to the rescue and showed him the open part.  I read an article that said to place a towel over your dog’s head, and the faster they got it off, the smarter they were.  So i placed a towel over Casey’s head, and he sat there, smiling and wagging.  Krystal finally walked over and pulled the towel off of his head.  Bless his heart.  

Most of the time, he still acts like a puppy, with his favorite toys being squeaky or…his absolute favorite….a small, purple, cloth pompom ball he tosses around to himself.  Since we moved to the apartment, he is finally trying to grow up.  He just hasn’t mastered the art of being manly, even though he is valiantly trying.   He has always had a wide range of barking pitches, mostly in the high range.  When he gets really excited, like when we pull into the kennel, groomers, or vet parking lot, he squeals more than barks.  I’ve noticed his pitch is getting much deeper these days.  Our apartment complex has an off leash park that we walk to a couple of times each day.  That is where he is practicing his deep pitch barking.  When a dog walks by, he barks deeply, and has started scraping his feet on the ground, similar to a bull getting ready to charge.  I haven’t seen one dog take him seriously.  Bless his heart.

Maybe it would help if I took off his red with pink hearts bandanna.  

Starting over involves a lot of things.  Changing address, drivers license, car tags, just to name a few.  When I decided to move, I chose to get a few new things to make starting over a little fun.  One if the new things I bought was a new set of everyday dishes.  They are quirky and fun…..and just service for four.  Last night, I had my first dinner party in my new home.  Turned out to be eight people.  I brought my china, fully intending on using it when I entertain, but I left my home in Roswell staged to get ready to be put on the market, so six place settings were in my dining room back in Georgia.  So I mixed my everyday dishes with china, no biggy.  I had to use three different styles of placemats, too.  And different glasses.  Now for seating.  My dining table seats two.  Two bar stools at the bar.  Three seats on the sofa.  Ok, there’s one chair in the living room, too, so there’s eight.  Even though it looked very hodge podge, everyone was quite understanding and it turned out fine.  Plus, I cooked my world-class lasagna =) and my friend, Vicki, made her world-class chocolate cake so everyone was happy!

Today, I went to church with my friends, Jeff and Vicki, again and went to the class that Jeff was teaching again.  I seriously thought about standing up at the end and ask, “does anyone have a pacemaker in this room?” (There’s bound to be at least one in that crowd!).  After I found the individual/individuals, I would ask “just how loud does it beep when it runs out of battery???”  Maybe next week!

As a side note, during the worship service, I looked over and saw a guy sitting across the aisle who looked very familiar.  Then I remembered….he was the first guy I ever wrote to on Christian Mingle, a dating website.  Small world……