Better Each Day

You know you're old when you enjoy talking about your medical issues. Or when you have to have surgery because of your medical issues.  This is super interesting and really enjoyable. Kind of like the last 6 days were for me. If you'd like to stop now, the best parts were gummy bears, Munchos, Coke, and feeling better each day... and then the meals brought in which balanced out the nutritional needs vs. comfort food!

Last Friday, bright & early I had both eyes operated on to fix a muscle issue that was causing me to need an ever increasing amount of prism in my glasses to supposedly prevent double-vision & what felt like looking cross-eyed at times, especially when driving. The prism lenses are very expensive - hundreds of dollars, and I felt like since my ability to safely drive was definitely compromised at times, it was something I had to do.  I was NOT looking forward to the surgery. I saw what it looked like when Taryn had it done - and thinking about it gave me the heebie jeebies. Honestly though I was a car wreck waiting to happen, so I bit the bullet and went through with it.

Friday: Got all set up in pre-op, a nausea patch behind my ear, IV'd, and gassed. They told me to breathe in super deep 5 times. I made it to 1.5.  Next thing I know I'm in recovery and some nurse wants me to open my eyes so she can put in drops. I'm thinking that might have worked better when I was still out.  I wasn't feeling too good so they added some anti-nausea to my IV. I kinda wanted a painkiller but the only one they were going to do I was pretty sure I couldn't take. I told them to go ask Mike. He nixed it - remembering the times better than I when I took it and the results. Hey, the other times I took it I had been operated on - I can't remember stuff after that!! I vaguely remember getting discharged - Mike & the nurse wheeled me out to the curb. I did the "TRUST WALK" and kept my eyes closed. Should've brought sunglasses. The nurse goes "you've got to open your eyes sometime" and I replied "NO I DON'T!"  I used Siri to text Mike when I needed him.  She read me my messages but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get Siri to read status updates on facebook. Geez!

Saturday: I was able to squint a little bit.  I spent all day in bed listening to Pandora with my eyes covered. A couple times I peeked thru very blurry vision to use the iPhone long enough to maintain contact with the outside world.  I was downing Tylenol extra strength every 3 hrs and my eyes looked like fish gills.  Y-U-C-K!!!  But I had to put in ointment so I had to deal with it. Taryn said the ointment would feel wonderful. It kinda does and it kinda doesn't, but I faithfully administered it 3-4 times a day. Taryn also told me to get an eye mask - which I did - and I got a head wrap to keep my bangs out of my face too. It's a stellar look and I so wish I had a picture to show you but alas....  Taryn was SO RIGHT on the eye mask. It helps prevent you from touching your eyes as you sleep but it also just helps you rest so much better - the dark is a blessed relief but when the mask is on I noticed that my eyes just feel better - like they stop moving, no blinking, much more relaxed. At night I sleep with it on even though it's dark so I don't accidentally rub my eyes. Thank you Taryn!!  I had dad mail you some treats in a package you should have received by now. Maybe a gift card is in order too. You let me know.

Sunday: HATED LIFE 100%  I was uber-cranky! There was a very real danger that someone could have been hurt had they gotten close enough and I could see where to swing. I was in so much pain, my eyes felt like glass shards were in them. I hoped I could just sit in the living room and listen to football but no way. The only thing that saved us all from me was that I was able to open my eyes if I stayed in the dark. I could check facebook, read messages, email and play bejeweled if I anticipated the bright flashes and closed my eyes during that. I whined my misery on facebook and that made me feel slightly better. The distractions hurt but were worth it. I couldn't take any more Pandora - I just don't listen to music that much although I enjoy it - it's weird. So I tried to listen to 3 different audio book excerpts; utter fail. The narrators voice - ugh!! I guess I just don't like listening to a story at all. I gave up when the male guy with a probably fake British accent attempted a woman's voice. Sheesh. It almost made me laugh, but I was too frustrated!

Monday: Mike took today off too. Sometime around 9 I put on a hat and collected cat dishes from the back patio. That was exciting! I wore the hat all day so I could tip my head down to avoid light. The pain alternated from burning to a gritty feeling that something was in your eye. Very annoying. I put a warm washcloth over my eyes which felt good but I'm not supposed to get water in them so I had to be careful. I decided to try watching movies on my kindle. Success!  Avengers was a lot of fun to watch and I just had to look away during bright fireballs. My boss from preschool stopped by in the afternoon with dinner from Honeybaked Ham. There was enough for 2+ days! I watched Hardball and started Message In A Bottle which I finished the next day. When Kevin Costner's character died it was so sad I cried a little bit, but wowza did that hurt!

Tuesday: Mike went back to work. You know that feeling of soap in your eyes? That was Tuesday. All. Day. Long.  But more time awake, moving around the house, a few minutes outside when it was cloudy, able to sit at the real computer! and I watched more movies -  Life As We Know It and Happy Accident. I almost shut down Happy Accident - it was sooo boring. But I powered through and that was pretty much the theme of the day. My VT came by for an hour. The light bothered me but I enjoyed the visit. Afterwards I had to put in ointment and lay down but it was worth it! We used a generous gift card from my preschool to Macaroni Grill for dinner. Indie went and picked it up and brought it home. Salmon & Orzo - it tasted sooo good! A big highlight!! Late night flick was Admission. I enjoyed it mostly because of how much work I put into college applications :)

Wednesday: Today my eyes felt horrible when I woke up and I was worried at first. I could barely open them. I had wondered the day before if I was overdoing it on the ointment. The box says 3-4 times, so I decided to stick with 3 for today. Once I soaked them for awhile they felt better and the whole day was a HUGE IMPROVEMENT. Except for occasional stinging and the feeling of dry eyes, it's been really good. Light doesn't really bother me much.  I can't see comfortably at a distance but I can tell it's getting better. The double vision is improved - as in I don't think it's been a problem today. I was starting to worry that the whole surgery was a bust, but then Mike told me the dr said it would take a few days to balance out. Today I enjoyed two movies in a row!!!! And it didn't hurt!  I watched Waking Ned Divine and Stand & Deliver.  I think I have maybe one more movie in me and then I will be done for a good long while. I'm glad I found something that was mostly free to occupy my rehab time - two of the movies had a rental fee, the rest were free.  Tonight another coworker dropped off dinner. She brought her youngest who was at our preschool a couple years ago so I got Indie's kitten Lillie and Aussie, and we played with her for awhile.

Tonight: I am so excited X Factor is on!  I hope I can watch TV. Looking out and upwards is harder. I am glad that looking straight ahead and down a bit about as far as your arm stretches out has been pretty do-able.

Tomorrow: I have my post-op appointment. I am hoping the excursion goes well and that I get a good report on the success of the surgery. 

ATO and Homecoming Week

 

 

Fraternity bid to Alpha Tau Omega for Gib!
Gib was invited to a preferential dinner to ATO and was issued a verbal invitation that night to join. It was awesome to be amongst the first asked! So now his Pledge Class of 14 guys get to wear suit & tie every Monday, learn all the brothers names, hometown, bday, major, etc. plus a bunch of fraternity stuff. And, yes, there IS a test!
ATO is a leadership focused fraternity; the BSC chapter supports the American Red Cross and supports local philanthropic service as well.

Homecoming Week for Mariah!
What a fun week for Mariah. She dressed up for spirit days, worked about 6 hrs a day after school on the Sophomore float, got to ride in the parade with FCCLA, went to the football game in pouring rain, rushed the field when the team won to remain undefeated, and went to Sky High, a trampoline place, to celebrate afterwards.
 (The best part for me was another mom drove there - whew it was a long week).


Enjoy the pics of homecoming game & parade that I got from the local news site

 

 

Mariah's Class 2016 float.
 (Mariah is in the white shirt)
Mariah was recruited for the Easy Bake Oven but ended up making the head of the
Raptor Football player! They say it will be preserved and used from now on.

The design team for the raptor football player

The winning float for the Seniors

 

 

 

My VT friend & I watched the parade
Mariah rode in the FCCLA truck
(Family Career Community Leaders of America)

Speaking of trucks.... this is Mariah's pic from her parking practice.
It really helps to not have any other cars around.

Checking In

It was so nice to have Gib back in the house for a couple of days. We sure missed him. One of the things I notice most, miss the most, is their laughter. I can't decide which word describes best the happiness I feel when I hear one of the college kids laugh from another room in the home. I just sit there and smile. It feels soooooo....... fill in the blank!

Gib returned yesterday afternoon. I don't care for the goodbyes at all and feel quite blessed that he is the closest college student we've ever had. This is do-able!!!  We ran errands all Saturday morning together - hair cut, Sonic, Target, flu shot, Costco, etc. We had a steak dinner and then Gib and his friend went to the movies.  We went to church Sunday morning, and then enjoyed football, wings & pizza with more friends. Mike drove him back to BSC with all the stuff in the trunk we had loaded him up with. I found his Nalgene bottle today so I guess that will be mailed to him since he needs it for Ultimate; and since he hinted that he was out of candy I guess I will fill the bottle up with something tasty to make the package arrival more exciting. Gib arrived back on campus with 20 minutes to spare for a dinner thing at several different fraternities. I'm looking forward to hearing which fraternity appeals to Gib the most and how he does with bid day.

We had a nice email from one of Mariah's 10th grade teachers today.

Hello,

I am Mariah’s AP Human Geography teacher.  I am writing today because I wanted to brag about your daughter.  Usually parents only hear from teachers when there is a problem but I wanted to take a minute today to share some good news.  Mariah has demonstrated great participation, diligence, and effort in APHG.  She is a joy to have in class!  I see her growing to be a leader and example for the other students.  You are truly doing something right as parents!


It's really great to hear good things about your child! When I replied to thank her teacher I mentioned that it's all Mariah - she is 100% responsible for knowing about her homework assignments, following instructions and getting everything done on time.  I guess if any credit can be taken by us as parents, it's that we have never hovered over assignments - we have always been there for assistance but expected our kids to do their own work independently. I consider school to be a full-time job for them and try not to allow us to be so overburdened with activities outside of school that the wheels have to be constantly greased to stay in motion. My biggest support for Mariah has been to drive up folders, posters, lunches, meds, etc to school when she has forgotten something! Hahaha we are still working on Pieces of Mariah but she is getting there! Actually, I have to say I've noticed great improvement in this area already, so Way to Go Mariah! You are an impressive young lady for many, many reasons.

TGIF!

Football season is back in swing.  Mike is happy.  Gib & Mariah are on his fantasy team. I'm not. I was too tired to remember to join in time. Preschool is back in swing. And I am pretty sure I know what the defensive linebackers feel like after hours of brutal offensive rushes. And that sums up the past few weeks for me.

The upstairs is undergoing a facelift. Hundreds of pounds of STUFF is gone and just knowing that makes me feel unburdened. I need to say a big thank you to Indie for a major clean out in the other "closet of no return".  After a few weekends of decluttering and reorganizing she has a cute little apartment going on up there and I don't have an apartment worth of boxes in the dining room anymore! The plan was to see how it worked and decide to stay or save up for a few months and then get an apartment of her own. Some of the feedback I've heard is 1) "it's not as bad as I thought it would be" (moving back home) - always nice to hear that. 2) having a "nice en-suite of the parents' house" saves her a ton of money and is really convenient! This is where I point out all this comes with a lovely personal chef who prepares dinner most nights & makes tasty nutritious lunches ready to grab & go, a gorgeous backyard, a handyman at the ready who also moonlights as her personal financial planning consultant, and a primo parking spot. What's not to love? Maybe she'll stay on for a bit.

Aussie decided that although it's very disappointing to be an indoor kitty with that backyard beckoning to him night and day, he does like having another bedroom to hang out in (or two). He has claimed a corner box with Taryn's extra comforter on top. Indie says there is a permanent Aussie indentation in it! He promises to share with Taryn when she comes home, and in fact, misses his snuggle-Taryn quite a bit, otherwise he wouldn't be on top of her comforter so much! I know Taryn says she wants to stay in the room down the hall, but I'm not changing it around again, so she and Gib can wrestle for it over Christmas break when they'll both be here at the same time. Aussie also adores the other usually-empty bedroom. Somewhere, there's always a sunny spot with a view to enjoy. He gets to hang out downstairs with all of us in the evenings and play attack-thru-the-window with Pixie, chase the bobtail with Chino, and finally, curl up on a blanket under the ottoman. Diego hasn't made known his feelings on the subject of another kitty in the territory. I think he's pretending    it doesn't exist unless it gets in his face.

Mariah is enjoying her new space as well. Pixie also figures she has two rooms - her old one and her new one! If only she and Aussie would make friends with each other! Working with the gunmetal gray walls wasn't a challenge at all for our little decorator. She simply added yellow and light gray bedding with lime green accents. We still have some work left to add some beauty to the walls with a big corkboard project and we hope to find some affordable artwork at a consignment store nearby.

Gib's room - I am having a hard time keeping it clean! Every time I go by, another item is being "stored" in there. One down: an extra bed and frame has been loaded into the truck ready for delivery tonight to a friend & a good cause. The portable A/C was in the middle of the room too. It is being temporarily "stored" in the bedroom closet now, along with suitcases, fans, off season clothing, etc. Our closet of no returns have downsized but they still exist. Maybe someday..... Finally, and I hope it's the last of storage challenges - Grandpapa's old desk. It's going to the Goodwill this weekend. It's a space hog and not all that nice too look at so we are unloading it. Someone will be thrilled to have it, and if they hang onto it for another 20 yrs or so it'll be a 100 yr old antique.

I'm glad we are getting those last few things removed from the room, because Gib is coming home tonight!  I will leave for Birmingham after I get Mariah from school today. Gib will drive us home and I expect, depending on how long we stop for dinner, to be home by 9 or 10 pm.  I'm excited that he'll be home for the weekend.  There are a couple things he needs to take back with him that we forgot about. And Gib will be glad to hear that there are some Ribeye Steaks thawing in the fridge for a bbq on Saturday!

Now that I've updated the blog, it's about time to get ready to go!!

Another One Gone

This weekend, Gib moved into his dorm at BSC.

We moved him in quickly which was nice since it was super hot and humid. Even so, we went up and down stairs so many times! Gib is on the 5th floor, and although there was an elevator, on that day it was being used by all the upper classmen who were unloading our cars.

His roommate is from Memphis and his parents seem very friendly and nice. Ben is on the quiet side, but perhaps he is warming up to Gib's charming personality. After all, who could resist the guy who makes THIS wax hand during an Orientation activity and then bails on the "mandatory" square dance that his mother really wanted to hear about.

We spent all weekend boxing stuff, moving stuff, moving more stuff, packing the truck... and well, that didn't take long because Gib only had 10 boxes and a duffel bag. Some of the boxes were on the small side, and all were light weight to make the trip up the stairs easier on the moving crew. We were pretty impressed with ourselves.  Of course we have forgotten a couple items, but we'll be seeing the dude in 6 weeks and 2 days. Not counting or anything.

So Mariah is now in Gib's old room with her own bathroom. To which we hear sisterly cheers throughout the house. It's totally win-win, except for when Gib is home and has to share with whatever sister is in residence. Gib's stuff was moved into Mariah's old room and will be his room when he's home and the guest room when he isn't and someone else is. Aussie likes the room quite a bit and has named himself resident Guest Kitty with window seat privileges. 

Indie can begin organizing all her things now that some of the clutter and moving boxes are gone. We have made significant progress but there is still more work to be done.  I drove an entire truckload to the Goodwill today. We've been dropping stuff off there all month.

Just before he left, Gib and a friend from high school who was heading to college the next morning, moved the huge screen TV from the upstairs bonus room with Mike's help and a little worry on my part. It thumped down the stairs but didn't get away from any of them so nobody was crushed. The guys loaded it in the truck and the Goodwill was happy to get it. Then Gib and his friend went to Genghis Grill. As they drove away, I commented that the lesson learned was college boys will do anything for free food.  And point to ponder: is moving huge furniture worth the free meal?  I think they are still young enough to say YES!

Mariah likes all her classes and pretty much all her teachers. She has a good group of friends and has figured out who is on her route between classes that she can talk to, when to swing by the locker and when she can't. Of course that means the time was ripe for the announcement that 4 new teachers needed to be added because there is a record-breaking freshmen (blah!) class of over 500 students! So now schedules change tomorrow - 2 weeks after school started - for 150 sophomore (yay!) students. Will Mariah be affected? Will she score a new study hall teacher? One who allows (gasp) talking?! Will we EVER get a schedule again that lets us play hookie for our mental health and mother-daughter bonding?  I'll let you know how it worked out. Hah, she is going to HATE that entire paragraph!!! That makes me smile.

Taryn sent me a text this morning that said: Today in Rolla: prepare to die of heat on your walk home. With a picture of the weather hourly forecast. It was 89 degrees with 89% humidity at 7 A.M. Ouch!! Gib is close to the same today with slightly less humidity and I'm pretty sure that was the case on Saturday too. If I'm miserable, you know it's bad! At least Taryn doesn't have to walk home - she got to take the Volvo for the semester.

Indie is diving into her grad school work. She got the internship she wanted and that starts in October. She is also a new sub at my preschool for Thursdays as needed. We are excited to have her at preschool- me especially. Tomorrow is the first day for kiddos. We had 4 work days last week, but the munchkins arrive tomorrow. We had CPR and you still sing the song Another One Bites the Dust to keep your rhythm right. Or you can sing Stayin' Alive... whatever makes you happy.  We had Open House last Thursday and it was fun to see all those babies again. We have a number of new to our school students too, with only 2 openings left. Gotta love a full house!

It's been a whirlwind couple of weeks and I wish I had just a few more days to do nothing. Another summer is gone, gone, gone.  Here's wishin' and prayin' for a great school year for everybody!

A Father's Recommendation

I just thought I would share with you how proud I am of Gib for his accomplishment in becoming an Eagle Scout...

To whom it may concern,

Please accept this letter as a heartfelt recommendation that Michael Gib Coombs be awarded the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank of Eagle Scout.

For the past seven years I have watched my son learn, exemplify, and grow in the Boy Scouts through Troop 137.  The opportunities to learn from older scouts and adult leaders were abundant in his younger years.  And as he grew, I was able to watch him become the youth leader that, in turn, shares his knowledge and experience with those younger than him.

Many times I have been approached by adults and troop leaders upon the return from some outing, activity, or even troop meetings where he has had some leadership responsibility and heard praise of his effectiveness.  Often these remarks centered on his ability to relate to the younger scouts, to provide assistance with the utmost kindness and patience in helping them to learn and do their best.

Outside of Boy Scouts, Gib’s character does not change.  He continues to represent the high standards of the Scout Oath and Law in is daily life.  In church, school, and family he is the face of optimism and always looks for the good in any situation.  Service is a natural part of Gib’s character.  He is not one to shy away from opportunities to serve, often participating in service opportunities through his church in addition to those provided by the troop.

I have always felt that my own experience as a Boy Scout in my youth was one of the great highlights of my life. However, that experience, while not diminished, has been surpassed by the opportunity to share this adventure with my son and watch him become the man he is now and know that the standards and values of an Eagle Scout are now an integral part of his life.

Sincerely,
Michael L. Coombs
Father

Invitation...

The parents of BSA Troop 137 Eagle Scouts

REID BARBER
GIB COOMBS
REED COTHRON
RYAN IRBY
MARIO KUNZ

invite you to their sons' Eagle Court of Honor

Friday, August 9, 2013
7:00 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church
Wilson Hall
101 Legends Club Lane, Franklin, TN 37069
7:00 pm

Light snacks served