New Ears #2

Several days have now past, since I started using my new hearing aids.
Yesterday, Saturday, my normal day to go shopping, was another "ear" opener. Who knew that driving was so loud? On my way home from an outstandingly unproductive trip to WalMart, I suddenly became extremely uncomfortable. It was so cold in my normally toasty old car! Then, I remembered that I had turned off the heater, earlier in the trip. Well, that darned heater, and the engine and the turn signal, and the traffic had all been so loud, something had to be turned off! I went for the safest thing.
This morning, I realized that enhanced hearing needs fine tuning. In my kitchen, bells and whistles are always going off. The microwave, the coffee pot, the over timer, etc., all make noise. And, this is the first time I have heard many of them. And in the process, I now realize, that my ability, to figure out out from where the noise it originating, is lacking.  Today the coffee pot buzzer seemed to be coming from above my head and I swear the microwave signal was coming from the living room!
However, this whole new experience is getting easier day by day.
I think I will soon miss the daily surprises coming through my new ears.

I am blessed. Life is a wonderful and awesome journey. Thank you, Lord, for being my Guide and Leader.

New Ears

(This will be the first of several posts about my new hearing aids.)

Day One:
Life is Loud! And, I had no idea it was. Over the past few years, I have been noticing that my ability to hear clearly and distinctly has been diminishing. So today, is my first day with hearing aids.
Were you aware that hearing aids come encased in metallic colored cases? I'm a Kansas University Fan, so I decided to have my right aid fashioned in metallic red and my left one in metallic blue. If I had, God Forbid, been a Missouri Fan, I could have had gold and black. All the colors of the rainbow were available.
Anyway, in less than 24 hours, I have discovered that my car's turn signals actually make clicking noises. I was flabbergasted while, when typing, I heard the sound of the keys on the keyboard, for the first time. When the housekeeper ran the vacuum around my desk, I nearly fainted from the roar.
Life is so loud.
But I will adjust. I now know that I have been missing a lot of life, and I will adjust to this new "hearing" world.

Dear Lord. I am blessed. My life has been good, but it is going to be better. Thank you for watching over me and my family.

BRRRRRRRRR.....

We've all heard and read the stories of elderly folks going out in sub-zero weather, getting lost and freezing or nearly freezing to death. Just the thought of such a thing happening horrifies all of us.
Well, at about 5:45 this morning, those thoughts were racing through my brain!
I had the best of intentions, this morning. I woke up a little early and as per my usual custom, ventured out into the driveway to pick up the morning paper. We are having unusually cold weather, for November, so thankfully I was dressed for my brief outing. I had remembered to wear my long robe and SHOES, for a change.
Well, as long as I am out, I reasoned, I will take our trash, and deposit it on the curb (we keep it in the garage). After completing those tasks, thoroughly chilled to the bone, I closed the garage door and attempted to open the kitchen door. Locked, I discovered.
What to do? Knowing that my spouse is asleep at the far end of the house, my only alternative to freezing is to go back outside and try the front doorbell. Maybe, he will hear it, get up, grab his walker and shuffle to the door.
On the third ring, he opened the door. I thanked him profusely, and asked If he knew it was me, at the door. Of course, he replied.
Well, we have been married 52 years. I guess he knows me awfully well.

Dear Lord. Thank you for being my guardian and protector. Thank you for blessing me with folks who care about me. Show me how to care for others.

Thanks Giving

In a current TV commercial for something (I can't recall just what the product is), an actor makes a statement, something like "our Thanksgivings used to be small" and immediately a mob of folks, presumably family, rings his doorbell. Then the same actor makes a follow-up comment about how times change.
Change is a fact of life. In reality, the only constant in life is change!
I remember thinking that the babies were never going to get out of diapers, and then that the afternoons and evenings watching little league baseball and soccer were never going to end, and on and on. Now, I wish I had taken the time to really enjoy all of those rites of passage, instead of wondering how and when we could move on.
Now, we have nine grandchildren. We certainly have many blessings for which we are so thankful. If I had one gift to give to all the teenagers and young parents of today, it would be to enjoy the journey.  We will never have enough time to experience all of life's joys and sorrows, but take time to enjoy the people and events of your life. No one knows just when we will reach our final destination.

Lord, I am thankful for the life I lead. Life is not a bed of roses but it isn't a mattress of prickly pear cacti. It's a journey and we are blessed to be on the road. We are all fellow travelers.
Guide us and show us every opportunity to share our blessings.

"Oops, I did it again."

I really need to work on my Patience Portfolio. Just what is a Patience Portfolio, you might ask? Well, a Patience Portfolio is what I call my stockpile of "wait-awhile-before-you-spout-off answers".
For instance, my number one question EVERY day is, "Is the mail in, yet?" This question is first asked around 8:05 a.m. I clock in at 8:00 a.m., so I am tempted to reply, "Lady/sir, how would I know? I haven't had time to read the sign posted, on YOUR mail room door. I just got here!" Or, my other answer could be, "The mail never comes before 10:00 a.m. Have you looked at the clock?"
But, most of the time, I just reach into my Patience Portfolio and calmly reply, " No. It isn't here, yet."
My Patience Portfolio also contains other stock answers like, "Let's look at the Activity Sheet, for the Bingo Time", or "Yes, we do have several Public Restrooms, and they are located....." What I really want to say, "Have you consulted the Activity Sheet, which lists daily times, whereabouts and costs, for every single activity for every day of the week, every week, and has done so for the past five years???!", or "No, this is a private residence and we don't allow anyone to go to the bathroom here. We require the public to either hold it, or go back home to their own bathroom."
My Patience Portfolio is large and I use it daily, but it still needs work. Occasionally, I let slip with a few moderately snide remarks. When a lady comes up to my desk, in the dead of winter, dressed in a thin sleeveless top, and dares to complain that she is cold, I have been known to suggest that she return to her 85 degree apartment or put on a sweater when she comes to the lobby. Rude, I know, and I really do try to apologize for the slip, afterward.
So, allow me to beg for forgiveness in advance. Sometimes the impatience just falls out of my mouth, and in spite of my Patience Portfolio, I am powerless to stop it!

Lord. Please help me to watch my mouth. Lead me to use kindness and care in my speech. Remind me that patience is a virtue.

Hold my hand, please.

I was given a list of Bible Verses, recently, and as I read them, I came across one particular verse that touched my heart.
                                  Psalm 46:10. "Be still, and know that I am God."

Is that me, or what? I have always had a problem keeping still and quiet. My mouth is always going a mile a minute. Truly, when am I ever quiet enough to hear what God is telling me to do? Does this ring a bell with you? If you have ever worked with the public, or been in a space where two or more are gathered, you know what I am talking about. Many of us have this problem.
In my youth, there was a slogan that we all had to learn, that was a promotional message for pedestrian traffic. I'm sure you will remember the words. Stop, Look and Listen. Those words were once taught to every school aged child.
Well, those words should apply to almost everything in life. Just think of all the situations where heeding those words would have been helpful. Just Stop talking. Look around and try to understand the situation. Finally, Listen to what God is telling us to do and say. Then and only then, should we jump into the fray.

Oh Lord. Watch over all of us. We do impulsive things, and we often regret them. Remind us that life is just one everlasting crosswalk!  Amen.

"Consider the lilies of the field........."

Have you ever been told not to worry? Of course you have. All of us know that worry doesn't do a bit of good. Worrying doesn't change the outcome of anything....ever. So why do we continue to do it?
Many folks choose to move to a Retirement Community, to reduce the number of things that they have to worry about. No more utility bills. No more interior or exterior items to buy, repair or maintain. Their apartments are cleaned by our staff. We run bus shuttles everywhere to everything. Many of our residents have sold their cars. Therefore, no more insurance bills, oil changes, gasoline station runs or car payments. No worrying about hail damage or stolen vehicles. When they fall, and falls are plentiful, we are there to pick them up. We love them and we take good care of them.
But, they continue to worry. It's so hard to stop worrying. I seriously believe that we must love to worry.
Every day, I remind people not to worry. Don't worry about the weather. Don't worry about money. Don't worry about your memory, or lack of.
We are in charge of so little. Do what you can do, just don't bother to worry. Let it all go.
Let go and let God!

Holy Lord: I want to turn all of my worry over to you. Show me how. I must Trust and Obey.