Kids are still kids and life is still normal, even at a slower speed. Yesterday I puttered around the house and rested when I felt tired. Everything was going well and I had high hopes of the house getting cleaner as the day progressed. Unfortunately, I may have been the only one who felt this way.
Three cute, unnamed members of my family decided that it would be fun to play indoor baseball... in the bedroom. As you can well imagine, this did not increase the cleanliness of the room. In fact, the mess sharply escalated when my adorable 4 yr old boy (with a healthy swing) hit the light fixture full force, raining glass shards onto the garden of clothing and toys below. Altogether it took a while to clean up, but the room is looking much better!
Thundershowers struck later on with torrents of rain, overwhelming our eavestroughs and creating a small flood in the basement. Thankfully, I'd rested and was ready to tackle the mess. Towels soaked it up, and went in the washer and dryer.
More thundershowers and a slightly smaller flood last night around 8, and I was very grateful to have dry towels from the afternoon to deal with it.
At the end of the day, not too much accomplished, but I'm learning on a whole new level that the success of a day (life) isn't only measured by how much gets done.
The verses from Philippians 4 that I've been pondering and allowing to permeate are worth repeating...
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
ps. my responses to the aforementioned events were actually pretty good (by the grace of God!)
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
good news :-)
It's been over a week of really resting, my heart hasn't gone back to normal and I'm more easily tired than ever. So yesterday Peter took me to the hospital, where we had an excellent evaluation from the doctor there. He said I am in almost perfect health. The only problem is that my heart is beating irregularily. This is not a life threatening condition, and I will not further damage my heart by doing my usual activities. What a relief!
That being said, he told me that the problem with this condition is the loss of quality of life as I am more easily tired and won't be able to do all the things I might like to do. (My mom pointed out that I could see this as an increase in quality of life where I stop and smell the roses ;-)
I have a prescription for medicine to make my heart beat in a regular rhythm, but it's a beta-blocker (has all sorts of nasty side effects) so I'd really rather not do that.
I'm going to try to stick this out for the next 9 days till my cardiologist appointment, doing what I can, and resting when I'm tired. Hopefully the cardiologist will have another option for me or even better, I pray that God will just reboot my heart in the next week and I'll be fine for life!
That being said, he told me that the problem with this condition is the loss of quality of life as I am more easily tired and won't be able to do all the things I might like to do. (My mom pointed out that I could see this as an increase in quality of life where I stop and smell the roses ;-)
I have a prescription for medicine to make my heart beat in a regular rhythm, but it's a beta-blocker (has all sorts of nasty side effects) so I'd really rather not do that.
I'm going to try to stick this out for the next 9 days till my cardiologist appointment, doing what I can, and resting when I'm tired. Hopefully the cardiologist will have another option for me or even better, I pray that God will just reboot my heart in the next week and I'll be fine for life!
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
60 to 0 in about 2 seconds
As my life was humming along merrily, I was thrown a curve ball last week.
I'd been feeling the pounding of my heart in my chest and throat occasionally, but these sensations came and went, so I continued on, enjoying my wonderful busy life. Then Thursday I noticed that the pounding wouldn't stop, so I went to see my doctor. He told me that my heart is beating very fast and banned me from caffeine and exercise. I'd already stopped caffeine a few days earlier, since I thought it might be a problem, but now I had to stop all exercise. This is a drastic change - I was used to jogging about an hour a day in addition to my regular activities.
I also went for blood tests and an ECG. The results came back on Tuesday and I am perfectly healthy, except something's up with my heart. So I'll be going to a cardiologist in 2 weeks.
In the meantime, I am resting on the couch... all day. I have found that if I am calm and relaxed, I feel vastly better. Any exertion produces concerning symptoms, so I am very motivated to be still.
This week has certainly brought a change of pace. I have experienced a full range of emotions, and keep coming back to Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
So I'm resting, reading and reflecting. I'm enjoying many snuggles and quiet talks with my kids, and my wonderful children are rising to the challenge of doing tasks cheerfully and thoroughly. I'm incredibly proud of them!
I'd been feeling the pounding of my heart in my chest and throat occasionally, but these sensations came and went, so I continued on, enjoying my wonderful busy life. Then Thursday I noticed that the pounding wouldn't stop, so I went to see my doctor. He told me that my heart is beating very fast and banned me from caffeine and exercise. I'd already stopped caffeine a few days earlier, since I thought it might be a problem, but now I had to stop all exercise. This is a drastic change - I was used to jogging about an hour a day in addition to my regular activities.
I also went for blood tests and an ECG. The results came back on Tuesday and I am perfectly healthy, except something's up with my heart. So I'll be going to a cardiologist in 2 weeks.
In the meantime, I am resting on the couch... all day. I have found that if I am calm and relaxed, I feel vastly better. Any exertion produces concerning symptoms, so I am very motivated to be still.
This week has certainly brought a change of pace. I have experienced a full range of emotions, and keep coming back to Philippians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
So I'm resting, reading and reflecting. I'm enjoying many snuggles and quiet talks with my kids, and my wonderful children are rising to the challenge of doing tasks cheerfully and thoroughly. I'm incredibly proud of them!
Saturday, June 2, 2007
sunny saturday
Today I wore my taxi driver hat, driving kids here and there. I had visions of painting our new schoolroom in between trips around the city, but that didn't materialize. Peter & I spontaneously went cruising in the 'vette during the only time when I could have painted. Cruising was definitely more fun! :-) (point of clarification... we were running errands, but anywhere you go in the corvette with the t-tops down on a 30 degree sunny day feels like cruising!) All in all, a great day!
Friday, June 1, 2007
baby robin
Yesterday we noticed the baby birds are SO big they don't fit in the nest well anymore, so I quickly borrowed my dad's camera (better than ours) and took some pictures last night.
It was evening, about 9pm, the sun low in the sky, mosquitoes in full force. We set up the stepladder near the tree, and I climbed up to the top to take the shot. I should mention here that I don't much care for ladders as I believe them to be a somewhat precarious way to suspend yourself in the air with great risk for falling and breaking bones. As I was perched atop this unsteady ladder with a very expensive camera in my hands, the mosquitoes zeroed in on the target - me! Every move I made to swat them away resulted in swaying the ladder and my fear of falling was outdone by my fear of dropping Dad's camera, so I allowed the bloodthirsty hordes to have their way with me. A small price to pay for a picture of our beautiful baby birds! :-)
It was evening, about 9pm, the sun low in the sky, mosquitoes in full force. We set up the stepladder near the tree, and I climbed up to the top to take the shot. I should mention here that I don't much care for ladders as I believe them to be a somewhat precarious way to suspend yourself in the air with great risk for falling and breaking bones. As I was perched atop this unsteady ladder with a very expensive camera in my hands, the mosquitoes zeroed in on the target - me! Every move I made to swat them away resulted in swaying the ladder and my fear of falling was outdone by my fear of dropping Dad's camera, so I allowed the bloodthirsty hordes to have their way with me. A small price to pay for a picture of our beautiful baby birds! :-)
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