Still Waiting

Preparations for the approaching  hurricane known as Irene are pretty well complete.  We didn't buy a second sump pump just in case the one in use dies on us.  But that one is less than 3 yrs old so it should be OK.  However if the power fails and the rain continues and is heavy we could be out of luck. But there is little I can do at this time.  I will check for water once more before I go to bed. I probably should have bought some more mops for cleanup.  If you live in low lands that once were wetlands, but have been pumped dry and developed as housing complexes you know what I'm talking about.  Otherwise I could explain, but I think you get the idea.  So a lot depends on how much rain, how fast, and how good the drainage is.  Water in the basement is not a new problem for this house.  From the first year we moved in up to last year when the old pump died just before a heavy rain. We didn't discover it until after the rain flooded the basement.  The cleanup was exhausting.  We had 2 houses to do that time.  That could happen again with the heavy rains from a hurricane.  Fortunately we don't get many hurricanes in New England maybe one every 10 - 15 years.  Snow storms are
more common, but I don't know which is worse.  They both can disrupt, travel, traffic, schools, and roads with debris (snow or electric lines, or buildings in the road).  I think the degree of damage is most important in either case.  So although I'm not really worried because worry doesn't prevent anything unless it motivates you to action, I am thinking about previous hurricanes, and what else I can do.  At this point I think I've done all I can.  Now I must wait and see.  So I'll post again after Miss Irene has left CT.  On the local news it was reported that we have not had a hurricane hit New England since Hurricane Bob which was  maybe 20 years ago.  I think that is odd (just for me) because my mother's middle name was Irene and she died last year.  Do you think she's sending me something to remember her by?  I wonder.  I could think of something a little less dramatic.

Waiting for Irene

Well it is Sat. evening and I'm watching some hurricane reports on tv and writing first in my journal, then an online journal and now my blog.  I may not be good but I'm prolific.  I am writing all the time it seems and while I would have hated this when I was in high school, today I relish it and wish I had more time and education to do a better job.  I'm not really concerned about the hurricane, but I have a superstition - that is that if I am really prepared for something (like a hurricane) it won't be bad or it won't happen.  I believe this hurricane will happen, but if I'm ready it won't be bad.  So far that's worked for me, and the only really bad things that have happened to me have been surprises including losing my job, surprise tests, well my marriage wasn't a surprise, but it didn't turn out very well (that part was  a surprise).  So who knows about these superstitions.  But they help to motivate me to prepare - so I won't need to. And now it's sleep time for me and my kitties. I'll say a little prayer that everyone in Irene's path will be ok and have very little or no damage from it.

Earth Quake

So the news says we've had an earthquake.  Here in New England - CT to be more specific there was a small rumble, but I didn't notice anything.  As a lover of thunder and lightening storms I like to think that I'd be pretty calm about a small earth quake, but I'm not so sure about that.  Earth quakes are different from storms in many ways, but the main difference that I see is that we seldom get any warning about an earth quake and if we did where would we go?  According to the news reports the east coast has large plates of solid bedrock so an earth quake in the east will most certainly be felt throughout many states as it was yesterday.  There is no where to go.  It does make for interesting news coverage though.  All the news programs and the lighter ones like Inside Edition and Entertainment Tonight had coverage and personal stories of the encounter.  Of course Nightline had coverage as well but that is a little more serious. I would guess that anyone living near a nuclear power plant would be very concerned.  But  since there is little one can do to escape, prevent or prepare for an earth quake, worrying seems a bit useless.  I like the stories about the animals who seemed to know something was happening just before it hit.  Did they try to save their people no just tried to make a getaway.  Maybe they are smarter than we are.

Animals in my life

So today it's animals:  pets, strays, wild, insects and food animals.  I have 3 cats, and at times I've had as many as 8 at once.  That doesn't include some of the outside strays that I fed, but who wouldn't get too close to me except for a free meal.  I love all animals, but cats are at the top of the list, and my cats seem well aware of this.  They treat me somewhat indifferently: come when they want something, sleep on my bed, sneak outside if I open the door, shed like crazy, look at me curiously when I call them (sort of like "who is that woman?"), and call me (loudly) in the middle of the night for what I don't know because they won't tell me - although Mr. G flops on his side and rolls over when he sees me coming.  Do you think he wants a belly rub?  That's what I thought, so of course I give him one, he purrs and  go back to sleep.  I do discipline him for such behaviors.  I speak to him harshly and then he rolls on the other side and gets another belly rub.  I think they have me right where they want me, and they know it.  Perhaps I should consider another method of discipline. 

My back yard is home to some free living wildlife mostly squirrels, a few bunnies, some crows, blackbirds, blue jays,a pair of cardinals and 3 chipmonks (they are the cutest little critters).  They all love sunflower seeds and most also love the peanuts I put out there.  Earlier this summer there was actually a doe in my yard, but she has not returned.  My cats enjoy the wildlife program on what I call squirrle tv every morning. They jostle each other for the best viewing position.  The squirrels come up to the door and sometimes crash into it which the cats love.  I'm not sure why they do that because I put the food a good distance from my house, but they have ways of finding out about things like food.  I'm convinced that they send notices out to all the squirrels in my yard and then chase the "yard crashers" away as they run off with their little treasures.  Stay tuned for more animal stories.

Thoughts on Aging

I woke up this morning with some thoughts on ageing. I had to look up the spelling of ageing before I started. Apparently it can be spelled with the e or not. So that becomes my first thought, i.e. what things came easily or automatically for the last 40-50 years begin to require some thinking about them sometime after the 50's. It's not noticeable at first, but it is insidious and unrelenting. It may start with menopause for women, may be identified as depression initially, (and may contribute to depression) shows up intermittently and at the worst times. At first one is in denial - it can't be age, I'm only 50. It must be stress. I need hormones and anti anxiety medication and maybe an antidepressant, something to help with the insomnia, meds for ever increasing achy feelings and joint pain, and so the long voyage toward the end of life begins to feel closer and closer despite all efforts to stay the execution. That journey can be anywhere from a few years to about 30. There is no doubt that it happens to all except those who die early by some twist of fate or disease, but there are conflicting opinions about almost everything else related to aging and ideas about how to cope both physically and emotionally. There is no fighting it, only delay of symptoms (sometimes). It can be the best years of a person's life or the worst. Some of this can be affected by attitude, health, activities, friends, economic circumstances, marital situation, family support, educational level, hobbies and interests. Some things just keep moving along despite all efforts to delay the process.

So here I am 64, unemployed mostly because I couldn't meet the requirements of my job. I feel that I still have much to offer, but I haven't found a slot that fits - yet. I should keep looking, but for now I have some commitments to attend to and then maybe I can find a slot for me. I think that aging is sad, but I feel better having written this. It seems to have clarified things for me. I wonder if this information (which is not new) would help anyone else. Maybe, maybe not. Each of us has to find his or her own way to cope and I'm still working on that. But most likely the process begins with thinking, identifying the problem, and planning an approach. (My old nursing process thing). Exercise such as anything from walking, swimming, dancing to games like the wii reportedly keep one feeling better, improves mood and attitude and can even contribute to a longer life. Motivation to get moving is another thing. It seems to help to have some company with those activities. Reading and using a computer and doing crossword puzzles and sudoku can help keep the mind sharp (I hate contrived puzzles, but yet I will spend hours trying to figure out why a lamp or a fan doesn't seem to work). I'm not sure if writing helps one's acuity, but I hope so because that seems to be my main intellectual activity after reading. Long talks with my daughter are also intellectually stimulating to me.  Reading the papers she writes for her classes also helps. She really challenges my brain. Am I doing enough. Time will tell I guess. Motivation or the absence of it seems to be a big problem for me.

10/24/2013

Still here, still ageing, coping fairly well.  But those long stimulating talks with
my daughter have been absent for more than a year.  She's busy with a new
job, and teenagers who can really swallow up all a mother's free time and she
has 3 of them.  May God watch over her.