Monday This and That

 
Listen! the wind is rising,

and the air is wild with leaves.

We have had our summer evenings,

now for October eves.

Humbert Wolfe

Good morning.  It's a beautiful morning.  I'm feeling so much better today. Stayed home this weekend and nursed myself back to health. It was only a cold, but I'm taking time to listen to my body now.  There are no more palpitations and my blood pressure is under control. It's near normal every time I test it.  In fact, when it was 116/64 I got a little nervous that it was too low. But, it was okay.  So I'd like to get back to exercising at least twice a week.  It is time I got over this fear. 

When the palpitations first began, my reaction was "Why me?"  For once in my life I was doing everything right--diet, exercise--but sometimes, despite our best laid plans, are lives go a little arwy.  After all, I'd been working hard on eating healthy--lots of fruits and veggies--and drinking plenty of water, but even so, it didn't fully prevent me from getting sick. That's because I 'really' wasn't doing everything right.  I was just telling myself I was.

One lesson I learned was NEVER stop a blood pressure medication without contacting the doctor.  About ten months ago when I switched doctors, I had one week without any medication, but no problems, so I figured it would be alright.  It was...for a week.  It was on about the 10th day that my body went haywire, and it took a good two weeks to get it regulated again.  

And, I also realized I had gotten a bit cocky with my sodium levels.  I'd started eating Italian sausages, telling myself that eating only one wouldn't hurt. Cooking two meals every day was getting to be a pain, so  I'd stopped cooking separately for me and began eating the same salted foods I cooked for hubby.  Not a good combination when one stops their medication as well.  

Today I know better.  I take my medication every morning and keep my feet up as much as possible so the swelling doesn't begin again.  And I still eat the same food I cook for hubby, aside from the sausages, but I take my share out when it's cooked, then add salt and allow his to simmer awhile longer.

Did lots of reading this weekend.   Discovered a new book by Crissi Langwell and purchased it.  Reminded me that I after I completed 'A Symphony of Cicadas: Sometimes the End Is Just the Beginning' I had gotten sidetracked and never read the next part, 'Forever Thirteen: Joey's Story' so I purchased that and reread Symphony of Cicadas to refresh my mind. Joey is Rachel's 13 year old son who dies with her in the accident.  If you are interested in stores of the afterlife, I highly recommend these two books.

Description of 'A Symphony of Cicadas':

Rachel Ashby thought she had it all. She was in the midst of blending her family with her fiancé, and mere weeks away from her wedding. After a lifetime of disappointment, everything was finally falling in place.

That is, until she was killed.

Cast into the afterlife, Rachel finds herself in a fight for everything she once held close. As she tries to remain near those she cherished in life, the layers of her life are peeled back to expose the imperfections and flaws that exist in us all. She discovers the human side of being human as she learns more about what it means to live than she ever knew in life. 

Description of 'Forever Thirteen'

What would you do if you died before you could ever really experience life?

This is Joey's story, a thirteen-year-old boy stuck on the other side of life and mourning the loss of everything he never got to be. Instead, he's just a short, chubby, geeky boy...forever. And he's certain that there's no worse fate. But when Joey takes a peek at those he left behind, he becomes aware of just how bad his best friend Cameron is taking his death - and how no one seems to be noticing. As the kids at school get more creative in their cruelty, Cameron plummets deeper into depression and self-destruction. Joey realizes if he doesn't step in, Cameron is going to do something he can't take back.

And there are limits, because there is only so much a spirit can do in the world of the living.

Forever Thirteen tells the tale of a boy who lived his life in fear of other people's opinions of him, dying before he understood that he was the one holding himself back. In his death, Joey discovers that it's never too late to make things better, and he learns just how strong the bonds of friendship really can be. 

Well, that's about it for now.  Going to go fix my oatmeal and then jump into the shower.  Headed to the old center today.  Hopefully they have some kind of group today.  I understand the man who came and showed clips of old music videos no longer comes.  I figured that once they booted him out of the room and gave him some tiny room in the back he'd stop coming.  Such a shame.