Tuesday, September 29, 2009
I guess I don't know my own strength
Yesterday evening Tommy asked me to 'pop' his back. I do it frequently as he does mine. He laid on the living room floor and I positioned myself above him. I always do it the same way but I never get the results I did last night. As I pushed on the middle of his back we head the LOUD pop! All in the same second, I pulled my hands back and froze, as Tommy screamed out and slowly sank the rest of the way to the floor, moaning. It was definitely a different sound than the usual popping vertebrae we hear. Adam was sitting in the floor close by, and was as shocked as we were and the look on his face said he had the same question I had. I looked at Adam and asked, "What was THAT?!" I was afraid to move. I asked Tommy if he needed to go to the hospital, his only reply was a deep, low moan. I had to help him to bed and checked on him a few times. I heard him all evening from the other room (til I knocked myself out with Ambien at bedtime) moaning and groaning... one of us needed to sleep right? :)
Today wasn't any better after what I thought would be a night's rest. He hurt just as bad when I left for work, grimacing and wincing from the pain each time he tried to cough, turn or walk across the floor. I finally convinced him he needed to see a Doctor, just to get it checked out and get something for the pain he was in. An X-ray confirmed that nothing was broken but just dislocated. Still haven't figured out how you dislocate a rib but I'll be checking into that.
I got him back into the car and home with a couple of prescriptions to get him through the next few days. He'd asked the nurse at the Urgent Care if he should call the police and file a domestic abuse report. I told him on the way home, be careful or I'd break the other side. We all know what I'm capable of now. :)
Not sure how I feel about letting him popping my back now either. That'll take a lot of thought.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Quilt Festival
This past weekend was the South Shore Quilt Festival. I didn't venture out Friday evening after work or even on Saturday because of the rain. But today me, mom and Amber decided to stroll through the streets and see what the crafters had for sale. I LOVE Fall. The beautiful foliage. An artist could never paint the beauty I see in the hills around our small town.
We viewed all the quilts on display. There are some wonderful quilters here that are not recognized for their work nearly enough. It was hard to choose a favorite but I took a couple of pictures of the two that really caught my eye the most. This is definitely a craft I'd love to get into. Not that I have the spare time now for something else... work, school, wife, mother. The demands of all I do now keep me busier than one person should be.
We viewed all the quilts on display. There are some wonderful quilters here that are not recognized for their work nearly enough. It was hard to choose a favorite but I took a couple of pictures of the two that really caught my eye the most. This is definitely a craft I'd love to get into. Not that I have the spare time now for something else... work, school, wife, mother. The demands of all I do now keep me busier than one person should be.
It's amazing to me that I can find such beauty in a period of endings... leaves are turning color as they are dying, autumn ushers in cooler air and announces the end of the hot summer days. God chose to create the most beautiful of nature's paintings in this season.
Our Story
I've heard more times than I can count how fascinating "our story" is. I see people looking back at me with smiles of wonder on their faces as I tell how my husband and I got married. So I thought I'd start from that beginning here and share it with you. Each time I have the opportunity to share my story, I am reminded how very special this union is and what a gift I have been given.
The questions I get most times are quiet, puzzled looks when one part of a conversation reveals my son's age (18 now) and then a few sentences later, or in another conversation on another day, they hear me say we have been married for 6 years. Most people do not dare to ask the obvious question, "Is he your son's real father?" (except for Pastor George in the Hospice Dept at work, but then again he's an exception to all the rules =) I usually end up volunteering the information, followed by our story. Partly to save them the embarrassment of asking... and partly because I love to tell it. (I'll try to keep it brief.)
I met Tommy through a friend in 1989 when he was visiting his sister in Ohio. He visited her around Thanksgiving each year. It was love at first site for me. I'd never met anyone so sweet, kind, considerate, thoughtful, funny, and HANDSOME! We spent some time together while he was in town but it wasn't nearly enough for either of us. We spent hours each week talking by phone. Mailed letters and cards (I still have those.) He would even play his guitar and sing to me on the phone. I was IN LOVE! But long distance relationships are hard, with just a handful of face-to-face time together in a year.
In that first short week we knew each other, we connected on a deeper level than either of us realized. But Tommy had been burned badly twice before and would not let himself risk that again. When he made a trip to Ohio in November, 1990, we spent some time together, sort of a 'goodbye', realizing that the odds were against us with such a great distance between us and his fears of the past. Two months later in January 1991, I found out I was pregnant. Fast forward....
Tommy and I did not get back together because of the baby. Adam was born in July 1991 and Tommy did the right thing in supporting his child. But he faithfully paid the state of Oklahoma, who in turn sent it to the state of Kentucky before it reached us. Because of this process, and the fact that he was living with someone who was controlling, manipulative and jealous (who did everything she could to hinder out contact with him), Tommy and I eventually lost contact.
I never stopped loving Tommy and did not date anyone for 10 years... since saying goodbye to him in 1990. I focused on working and raising my son and for a while that was enough for me. In 2000 I decided I'd been alone too long and started dating again. I eventually became engaged. I thought I had it all planned out. I was wrong.
When I met Tommy he was a single father raising his two daughters, Traci and Mandy. The youngest, Mandy, was a daddy's girl and the cutest little freckled-faced, red haired thing you ever saw. She and I both were equally heartbroken when I had to say goodbye to her too. It was her that found us in March 2001. She was about to be married herself and wanted to reconnect with me (so that I could be a part of her happiness) and she also wanted to meet her little brother she'd only seen pictures of and talked to briefly on the phone with a few years before.
After Mandy pulled the family back together, and Adam and I went to Oklahoma to see his dad and 2 sisters I knew immediately that I still loved him. I had to do some thinking and make the decision to break off my engagement because I knew Tommy was still the love of my life. We continued visiting as often as possible and Tommy and I renewed our relationship with each other. We married in January 2003 and I know it was 'meant to be'. After so many years apart, and neither of us marrying other people, I believe we were meant for each other... soul mates. And I thank God for His plan. Sometimes you don't understand why things happen the way they do. And it could take days, months, or as in our case years to see the plan that God had.
The questions I get most times are quiet, puzzled looks when one part of a conversation reveals my son's age (18 now) and then a few sentences later, or in another conversation on another day, they hear me say we have been married for 6 years. Most people do not dare to ask the obvious question, "Is he your son's real father?" (except for Pastor George in the Hospice Dept at work, but then again he's an exception to all the rules =) I usually end up volunteering the information, followed by our story. Partly to save them the embarrassment of asking... and partly because I love to tell it. (I'll try to keep it brief.)
I met Tommy through a friend in 1989 when he was visiting his sister in Ohio. He visited her around Thanksgiving each year. It was love at first site for me. I'd never met anyone so sweet, kind, considerate, thoughtful, funny, and HANDSOME! We spent some time together while he was in town but it wasn't nearly enough for either of us. We spent hours each week talking by phone. Mailed letters and cards (I still have those.) He would even play his guitar and sing to me on the phone. I was IN LOVE! But long distance relationships are hard, with just a handful of face-to-face time together in a year.
In that first short week we knew each other, we connected on a deeper level than either of us realized. But Tommy had been burned badly twice before and would not let himself risk that again. When he made a trip to Ohio in November, 1990, we spent some time together, sort of a 'goodbye', realizing that the odds were against us with such a great distance between us and his fears of the past. Two months later in January 1991, I found out I was pregnant. Fast forward....
Tommy and I did not get back together because of the baby. Adam was born in July 1991 and Tommy did the right thing in supporting his child. But he faithfully paid the state of Oklahoma, who in turn sent it to the state of Kentucky before it reached us. Because of this process, and the fact that he was living with someone who was controlling, manipulative and jealous (who did everything she could to hinder out contact with him), Tommy and I eventually lost contact.
I never stopped loving Tommy and did not date anyone for 10 years... since saying goodbye to him in 1990. I focused on working and raising my son and for a while that was enough for me. In 2000 I decided I'd been alone too long and started dating again. I eventually became engaged. I thought I had it all planned out. I was wrong.
When I met Tommy he was a single father raising his two daughters, Traci and Mandy. The youngest, Mandy, was a daddy's girl and the cutest little freckled-faced, red haired thing you ever saw. She and I both were equally heartbroken when I had to say goodbye to her too. It was her that found us in March 2001. She was about to be married herself and wanted to reconnect with me (so that I could be a part of her happiness) and she also wanted to meet her little brother she'd only seen pictures of and talked to briefly on the phone with a few years before.
After Mandy pulled the family back together, and Adam and I went to Oklahoma to see his dad and 2 sisters I knew immediately that I still loved him. I had to do some thinking and make the decision to break off my engagement because I knew Tommy was still the love of my life. We continued visiting as often as possible and Tommy and I renewed our relationship with each other. We married in January 2003 and I know it was 'meant to be'. After so many years apart, and neither of us marrying other people, I believe we were meant for each other... soul mates. And I thank God for His plan. Sometimes you don't understand why things happen the way they do. And it could take days, months, or as in our case years to see the plan that God had.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
It's now "another day"
Excerpt from Dec. 2007 post Whippin' the Cat "...I always wanted a dog. (We'll get to that another day.)..."
Well... it's now 'another day' and I have my dog! On Feb 6th 2009 we brought home a 2.5 lb baby chihuahua. Her papers say Abigail Caitlyn Turner aka Abby.
I've never seen anything move so fast in my life! Who'd have thunk it would take 3 full grown adults (me, hubby and the vet) to hold a 3 lb chihuahua still enough for shots. I managed to come out on top. I held the 'back end' hidden from view so her daddy and the vet were the bad guys she saw when that needle went in. I'll remember that position in the future too, since daddy came away with a bloody hand from her wrath. LOL
She is nearly a year old and about 5 lbs but don't mistake her tiny body. She's still 'finding her bark' and it's fun to get her going and listen to the various level changes. And she's howled just a few times, accidentally of course because she seems to surprise herself and us when she does and can't do it again. Right now we are in the Terrible Two stage. And she's teething, so just like any other baby, everything goes in her mouth. Sometimes you pull back and injured or bloody stump too if she gets her teeth sinked in enough before you jerk back. Night time... bedtime she comes alive no matter how tired and sleepy she is just minutes before we walked into the bedroom. She sleeps with us and the bed is her playground. She isn't allowed in there all day so she the bed is her playground. And when she has run a few laps and played with a toy or two (she brings them to bed every night) she will crawl under the cover, most nights to the bottom close to our feet and sleep. It's peaceful again. But Abby always wakes up first and when she does, everyone gets up. She will crawl out from under the covers, do her 'shake & stretch' routine then she starts pulling the covers off of us with her teeth... and Abby will not be ignored. But it is still a thrill to see her face when I wake each morning and running to greet me each evening... full of love.
Well... it's now 'another day' and I have my dog! On Feb 6th 2009 we brought home a 2.5 lb baby chihuahua. Her papers say Abigail Caitlyn Turner aka Abby.
She is nearly a year old and about 5 lbs but don't mistake her tiny body. She's still 'finding her bark' and it's fun to get her going and listen to the various level changes. And she's howled just a few times, accidentally of course because she seems to surprise herself and us when she does and can't do it again. Right now we are in the Terrible Two stage. And she's teething, so just like any other baby, everything goes in her mouth. Sometimes you pull back and injured or bloody stump too if she gets her teeth sinked in enough before you jerk back. Night time... bedtime she comes alive no matter how tired and sleepy she is just minutes before we walked into the bedroom. She sleeps with us and the bed is her playground. She isn't allowed in there all day so she the bed is her playground. And when she has run a few laps and played with a toy or two (she brings them to bed every night) she will crawl under the cover, most nights to the bottom close to our feet and sleep. It's peaceful again. But Abby always wakes up first and when she does, everyone gets up. She will crawl out from under the covers, do her 'shake & stretch' routine then she starts pulling the covers off of us with her teeth... and Abby will not be ignored. But it is still a thrill to see her face when I wake each morning and running to greet me each evening... full of love.
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