Can it be this long since I have posted? I know people say that time is speeding up but this is ridiculous. The year is halfway gone already.

Where to begin?

I guess the best thing I have to comment about is our newest member of our family.

The sadness we felt with Buster's passing was profound. Yet, we knew in our hearts that we wanted another little life with us, a little kitten to celebrate orange kitties, to remind us of Buster and also to help us heal. We also knew it had to be a rescue baby since we wanted to give a home to a kitten who would otherwise be in danger.

So, we looked. The week of what would have been Buster's 13th birthday we found him. I have to believe that Buster had a hand in us finding this wee one.

His name is Riley. He was only 5 weeks old when we got him on May 3rd and weighed barely more than a pound.

He has already made his place in our family and brings us untold joy and love every day.

The Sixties

I had an unsettling experience yesterday. While getting ready to go on a trip with my husband, I suddenly developed chest pain. Not the pressing squeezing type you hear about but enough that it caught my attention. And it lasted for almost half an hour. Accompanied by some shortness of breath and some dizziness.
Okay, better pay attention.
So we cancelled the plane reservations, cancelled the hotel, cancelled the car. Called the people we were supposed to visit and off we went to the Emergency Room. Of course, by that time I was feeling pretty good but we went through the whole examination process anyway.
Had the EKG.
Normal.
Had blood work.
Normal.
Doctor comes in and says, "We're going to admit you for precautionary reasons."
No, I feel fine. I don't want to stay.
And then he said it.
"When women are in their sixties, we have to err on the side of caution. This could be serious."
IN THEIR SIXTIES?!
He didn't actually say that to me to my face, did he?
For one thing, I only turned 60 last month. To me, that still doesn't qualify as "in my sixties", okay? Let's get that straight right here and now, Doctor- I- have- underwear- older- than- you. I'm just getting the hang of this sixty thing and you're no help.
Then, I started to think about that word.
Sixties.
Maybe it was the nitropaste they slapped on me but I started to free associate and wondered how that word had now become the enemy. There was a time when I loved the "sixties". I revelled in being a child of the sixties.
The sixties were good times. Revolution, the best music, freedom.
I came of age in the sixties.
And now I'm just feeling aged.
As it turned out, my heart was fine and I was sent home that night when my cardiologist came in. He took off the nitropaste, said I didn't need it.
I had a horrible headache from it and some new thoughts.
I guess I need to come to terms with the sixties, then and now.
Yup, I'll get right on that -maybe tomorrow.

Buster

Buster

1995 - 2008

My sweet baby boy is gone. Buster lost his battle with cancer yesterday. I can't tell you how much my heart hurts. I know he's in a better place now and he no longer hurts but I miss him so much.

I can't say enough nice things about our vet. Dr. Tom was patient and kind and loving. He came to the house and allowed us to have a peaceful and loving time with our baby before he passed on.

He gave Buster a sedative to relax him. Then we took him into the living room and I held him and my husband and I spent time with him, talking to him and petting him.

But Buster kept fighting the sedative. So Dr. Tom had to give him a second shot. That eventually helped him rest enough so that he fell asleep in my arms and then the vet gave him the last shot.

Buster took his last breath in my arms.

I can't remember the last time I cried so much. And I think I can count on three fingers the times I have seen my husband cry and yesterday was one of them.

Afterwards, the vet gave us a Tibetan prayer ritual that we are going to do out on the deck today.

Rest easy, my baby.

What a week

My hubby was in a car accident this past Tuesday. He's going to be all right but the car may be totaled.
A good Samaritan stopped on the opposite side of the road, parked his car, put on his blinkers and ran across six lanes of traffic to render aid. Then someone plowed into his car!
Both accidents shut down the road, the only access into our town.
This happened just three miles from our house. My husband was coming home from work.
I got in my car after he called me to tell me about his accident and when I heard the second accident over the phone in the background, I panicked and decided I was going to drive over to see him for myself.
I couldn't get to him. I got about a quarter of a mile away and could see police lights and brake lights but had to turn around for fear of getting stuck in all that traffic.
That's when I got really upset.
Luckily he called me back and I felt better after hearing his voice and he reassured me he was all right. The accident happened right on the boundary line of our town and the next one so police and fire trucks from both towns were there. It was a mess.
It's been a week, I tell ya!
But it makes you appreciate that life is precious. Hug your loved ones and be grateful.

Life is a banquet

I have made a resolution today to write more blog entries. Let's see if I can keep that now.
No - I WILL keep that. :>)
Anyway, today has been a wonderful day and it's only early afternoon. I had lunch with a relatively new friend who brought along another woman whom she thought I would like to meet. What serendipity! We all had so much in common.
Is there anything better than a few women getting together and sharing common interests over lunch?
The thoughts were flowing and it was exhilerating.
The setting was absolutely gorgeous as well -looking out over the hills of our town in Arizona, hawks circling for their own lunch in the distance, woodpeckers and hummingbirds flying next to our window, a cloudless blue sky - we are truly blessed.

Our health care system is ill...

Medicine is growing by leaps and bounds. It’s a great thing – and also a scary thing. Mistakes are being made and sometimes they are not even being caught.
Cases in point –
A girl friend of mine was hospitalized last week for a suspected cardiac problem. The first evening, her doctor [not her regular family physician] ordered a blood sugar level. They came to draw it while she was having dinner. A few hours later, the doctor came by and told her she was diabetic because her blood sugar was elevated. No kidding, Sherlock! She tried to get him to understand that she was not diabetic, had never been diagnosed as a diabetic, and had no symptoms of diabetes [she’s also a nurse]. He wouldn’t listen to her.
The next day, when he was discharging her, this same doctor wrote her a prescription for Glucophage, blood sugar lowering medication. My friend threw the prescription away. But what if she hadn’t? What if she had taken it and her blood sugar plummeted? She lives alone. Her Rottweiler doesn’t know how to dial 911.
Another case –
Another friend was hospitalized last week for day surgery. She is allergic to Codeine. It was listed on her chart. What did they send her home with as a pain killer? Percocet! It contains a drug similar to Codeine. Did she take it? Yes. Did she know the potential problem? No. Did she have a reaction? Yes, and had to be rushed back to the ER with a drug reaction.
The morale of this story – question everything. Don’t be afraid to be labelled a pain. It’s your life or that of your loved one. Get a second opinion. Look things up yourself. There are great resources on the Web now. Don’t take any medication that you don’t know the ingredients of. Yes, health care is becoming better but it's also getting less and less personal. You have to be an advocate for yourself and those you love.

"The Savages"

I came across an ad for a new movie that was just released called The Savages. It isn't playing locally heremin Phoenix and I'm sorry to see that. With only a limited engagement it's not going to reach a wide audience and it seems like a film that needs to be seen. It's about two adult children facing their father's poor health and having to place him in a nursing home.
This is something that my generation is going to be facing over and over and over again.
In fact, I'm giving a talk about this next month. My current book Second Chance [www.secondchancenovel.com] has this topic as its subplot and my new book [still under construction] is partly about that, too.
Calling us the sandwich generation is trite because the phrase has been used so much but it's true. We're being squeezed from both sides and it's tough.
We have no point of reference. We've never encountered these issues before. And, let's face it, seeing our parents grow old and feeble makes us face something we have never, ever wanted to acknowledge before - we are getting older.