My Grandmother

So Thursday...the day that we all love because the next day is Friday and then comes weekend. Unless you get a text from your mom saying your 96 year old Grandmother is in the ER with a possible stroke, but don't come down yet. Um...yeah. That was my Thursday after school. So I called my sister and demanded to know what was up. So - long story short:

Mom had a dr's appointment for her back to say she did indeed fracture her L2 (big shock). On the way home they decided to stop to see Grandmother because mom hadn't been in a week and she usually sees her daily. They walked in expecting Grandmother to be sooo happy and instead they got glassy eyes and gibberish. Mom got the nurse at the facility, the nurse got the Ambulance, Grandmother got a ride to the ER and mom got quite a scare! After a CT scan it was decided that it wasn't a stroke (there was no blockage), but that it was likely a TIA (Transischemic attack). The way to find out was an MRI. (In case you don't remember mom's MRI story look in the post below). Knowing for sure wouldn't change treatment so we opted not to do it. Within 24 hours Grandmother was back to normal and at home in her apartment at her assisted living facility happy as a clam. She wouldn't go to dinner that night though because she couldn't let anyone see her bed-head - she had missed her hair appointment after all.

Y'all, I can not even begin to tell you now much I love that lady! She is so amazing! Who else do you know that is 96, had a stroke, has aphasia, has broken a hip, had a TIA and can still give em heck?! This lady is amazing. We all love her dearly and I want to be just like her when I grow up!

A sweet story from the hospital:
The neurology nurse came by to check on her and was making sure all was well. One of the things they had her do was identify pictures. Some more common than others. There was a chair and a feather and some other things. The last picture was a hammock between 2 trees. My GrandJack, her husband, had a hammock that he loved. Well, due to the aphasia Grandmother couldn't pull up the work hammock. So she looked at it and traced it and hemmed and hawed for a bit and said, "There's a tree and a tree and a....." Then she tried again, "My husband used to love his. His didn't look like that. There's a tree and a tree......hmmm...there's an oak tree...no a walnut tree and a walnut tree and a......" Finally the lady said, "It's a hammock" and she said, "Yes, a hammock. A walnut tree and a walnut tree and a hammock. My husband LOVED his. You know, he's been gone 30 years now..."

My friends - I teared up. She was spot on. There were 2 trees in their backyard that GrandJacks woven hammock hung between. And he loved it. And he has indeed been gone 30 years. It was so sweet. Even the neurology nurse realized that it was sweet and kindly ended the session. A few hours later, Grandmother went to her apartment. Mom came to visit and her reaction was to be expected - excitement to see her only child. Gosh I love that lady.

Ready to go home...and all smiles about it.

My Momma

So...it snowed last week. 2 beautiful days. We were in school BOTH of them. Only in Texas does it snow, stay under 30 degrees and MELT?! Anyway, on Thursday my mom's school let out 30 minutes early. Seriously - that was their early release. Then the teachers were able to leave. My mom left and walked to her car across the slushy parking lot. She said with each step the snow melted. Then she hit a slick patch. She didn't fall (that was my first question as she has fallen and broken her arm 3 times in parking lots). However, in the effort of staying upright she twisted pretty hard and that caused a compression fracture in at L2. She managed to fill out paper work and drive herself home (we'll call that shock) where my nurse sister met her. They immediately went to the Ortho office that we use and they saw her that afternoon. She had x-rays (standing/in her clothes because she couldn't move enough) and got to see the fracture. Then they fitted her with a corset brace which immediately helped with the pain. She was then scheduled for an MRI Friday afternoon.

There's a story:
She walks in for the MRI and the first thing they say is "Ok, lay down". I remind you - she has a broken back...
So she did as she was asked with much gratefulness that she had just had pain pills. The girl then proceeded to have her scoot this way...oops too far...now back...oops too far...again that way...oops...there... (with a broken back). Then she put a pillow under mom's knees so her (broken) back was flat on the metal table. Then handed her a 'stress ball' and told her it was her panic button. This alarmed mom and she wondered aloud why she'd need a panic button - how long could this take anyway? The gal told her only 30-45 minutes (with a broken back). SO they start to send her into the tube where mom immediately (like in 10 seconds flat) found out she's clausterphobic....and the MRI was over. So home she went in her brace to take more pain meds. She has continued sleeping sitting up in a chair and was supposed to have an 'Open MRI' today...hopefully with some happy pills.

Once she's had the MRI they will likely do a surgery where they use an needle (OUCHIE) to inject some kind of human approved cement that will fill in the fractures and fix the whole painful mess. The doctor told her she'll go to sleep hurting and wake up ok. (Mom wanted to know if they could just skip the MRI and do the surgery and I agree that makes the most sense to me...but I'm no doctor.)

All that to say - Please pray for my Momma. She's in some pain. I haven't heard if they ever scheduled an open MRI but if they did -- she'll need your prayers for that. Then we will all covet them for the surgery and further recovery portion.

As a side note - I found out that this kind of fracture is usually a bone density issue and that my mom may have slight scoliosis. (My Grandmother has an S curve in her back and appearantly it is hereditary.) Mom's doctor has suggested we all have bone density and scoliosis screenings in the near future.

And that my friends, is the daily news.

Sunshine Award

My sweet friend Kathy over at 9PeasMom gave me a blogging award. Being as I'm sporadic at best...who knew such things existed! But anyway - she did...and here are the rules for what to do about it:


1. Use the award logo in your post. (check)
2. Link to whoever nominated you. (see above - check)
3. Tell us 10 pieces of information about yourself (see below)
4. Nominate fellow bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogsphere
5. Leave a comment on the nominees' blog to tell them of the award.


Ten Things About Me:

1. I began my stage career as a 3 year old in a church choir. I lifted my dress up for the whole church to see my bloomers. They let me up there again at Christmas when I was a little older. I rearranged the light bulbs in our Living Christmas Tree. I was in a few plays at the church (once as the lead!) and then in High School I auditioned for Zaneeta in Music Man. The director laughed at me and put me in the Chorus. I was devestated and committed to be a PATRON ONLY. 11 years later a friend talked me into auditioning for Sound of Music. I was cast as one of the singing nuns, but due to a series of fortunate events I was Elsa. I messed up EVERY performance! But I LOVED it. Since then I have been in 14 other shows (4 plays and 11 musicals). I LOVE the stage!

2. I have lived in 6 cities and had 14 different addresses in my lifetime. While I couldn't remember all the addresses if I tried, I can list the cities and how many addresses I had per city:
-Garland (1 - don't remember...was an infant)
-Waco (1 house)
-Brownwood (2 dorm rooms, 1 house, 1 apt)
-Fort Worth (3 apartments - all in the same complex!)
-Granbury (1 duplex)
-Waco (1 apartment)
-Sherman (1 apartment, 2 houses)
(plus a Carrollton address for a while)

3. I collect spoons. Not the kind you can eat of off...that'd be gross. The cute decorative ones that you buy in souvenier stores and airports. I have them from all over the world. One from every place I've been and several from places I'd be lucky to go see. Friends bring them back for me when they go places. My first 4 spoons were from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. My Grandmother bought them for me on a trip because she thought they were cute. She started a life long collection! Ironic that one of my first spoons is from the same country as my husband!

4. Alan and I met in 2001, but weren't impressed with each other. We later met again in 2009 and the story was much different. It's amazing how God orchestrated the entire thing!

5. I'm addicted to Candy Crush and other stupid FB games. Honestly...I'm on level 325. I LOVE to play...I LOVE to beat levels. It's sad.

6. I learned how to sew this summer. I would have NEVER thought I'd enjoy it -- but I did! It's so satisfying to create something wearable. My next project is to make the girls pants for Paddy's Day! EEK! I'm so excited I can hardly stand it.

7. I started out as a kindergarten teacher. My major in college was Elementary Ed with an Emphasis in Pre-K/K. This is my 13th year teaching and only 4 of those have been Kindergarten. Another tid-bit. I cried almost daily the week leading up to my first year teaching because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing. Seriously - daily! I now work with Hearing Impaired kiddos. That happened because my principal was really bad my first 3 years and I was getting ready to quit teaching when one of my friends who is Deaf asked if I'd consider teaching Deaf students. We talked about it and I started course work. And here I've been for the last 9 years. :)

8. I tend to advocate for adoption. It is my belief that EVERY child should be loved and cared for appropriately. I'd never really thought much about adoption other than the knowledge that I babysat for a family who adopted twins when I was a teenager. Until a family friend adopted from China a few years ago. I followed her story on a blog have blog-stalked adoption stories since. I love seeing picutres from 'Gotcha Days'. Sadly - there are many orphans world-wide who need a Mommy and a Daddy. Currently we are not in a place to consider growing a family in this way - however I try to get the word out in case one of YOU can. As I've said before EVERYONE can do SOMETHING.

9. My dogs are spoiled rotten. Seriously. The last 2 nights Lily's slept in our bed because it's 'too cold' in the kitchen. She burrows under the covers and stays there for a while then wakes us up as she re-situates herself. Repeat. ALL.NIGHT.LONG. But she's warm! :) Mercy is my little baby. She has a complete wardrobe (though not as complete as some other friends....). She gets to go places with me just becuse she's small, cute, and my baby. Not spoiled at all. My dogs favorite place to be is my lap, which can get annoying sometimes, but mostly I just love em!

(Saved the obvious one for last)
10. I am a twin and we have twin names...but she might kick me for sharing her middle name with you - so I'll share my full name and you can guess the rest! My mom found out she was pregnant and told her dad as she took him to the airport for a mission trip to Scotland some 35 years ago. He looked at her and said "Twins. Red headed, skinny legged boys. Twins." She laughed and told him he could have one if it was twins. Hugged him goodbye and off he went. Fast forward a few months and mom goes in for a sonogram where they tell her she's having twins. 1 boy, 1 girl. So she calls GrandJack and tells him to get ready b/c he's having a baby because she's having twins! Fast forward a few more months and mom has us. But she had a C-section and had to be under anesthetics for it. When she woke up the nurses told her she had 2 beautiful girls and she argued briefly since it was supposed to be a boy and a girl. So Allison was named Allison L. Meppen and I was Baby B while they decided on a name. I was then named Alissa Leanne Meppen (Leanne for Amy's favorite babysitter at the time, and Alissa becuase it sounded good). My dad dutifully wrote our names on the birth certificate and then realised we had twin names. Then, to make it more fun - he realized we all 3 had the same initials. Amy L. Meppen, Allison L. Meppen, and Alissa Leanne Meppen. Good fun. (As an added aside - Amy and Allison dropped their middle names legally when they married becoming Amy M Neal and Allison M Hutchins. I couldn't do that since I go by my middle name and had to drop the Meppen to appease USCIS so I am officially Alissa Leanne Duigan...no Meppen in site.)

And there you go....I will see about nominating other people later...That's alot of typing for me! :)

It takes a Community

WARNING:
NO PICTURES....One Picture
JUST STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS THOUGTS....

I know you've all hear the 'It takes a Village....' phrase. I would like to offer a new idea: It takes a COMMUNITY.

I know the premise for the 2 statements could be interchangable, however for me they seem very different. To me the 'village' phrase would mean the family and close friends. Community is the whole picture - close friends and acquiantances and everyone else.

I would have always called myself a 'VILLAGE' type person. I wanted 'us four and no more'. I just need my close friends and that'd do. Then I got into COMMUNITY theater and made friends with the people there. They weren't the kind of friends you'd call if you were in the hospital, but they were fun to be around. And so I became more of a community minded person -- still CLINGING to my 'VILLAGE'.

And then I moved to Sherman. When I first move to an area I make friends and stick with them. They're safe. So I met Donna and she stuck. Made friends at church and they stuck. They were the Village, if you will. Then I got married and I had to figure out how to expand the Village to encompass friends for him. And then came COMMUNITY. I got involved in the community theater here before we got married and met my landlords and some other folks. They were good fun, but they weren't my Village because they had their own. But with the husband aspect. And to my world he brought COMMUNITY. He became involved in a community organization and we met so many new people. Again, I might not call them in terrible need, but I know they are there. And then I became involved in community things and have made so many friends. Amd voila -- community.

See, the thing about COMMUNITY is it is ever changing. People come and go. You see them in this show, at this event, at that store -- but you know them and chat for a minute - then move on. The best part about this is you never know who from the COMMUNITY will become part of your VILLAGE.

(Now I'm getting to the point!)

Let me tell you about my sweet friend who started as COMMUNITY, but now I cherish as VILLAGE. When Alan and I applied for our marraige license there was a sweet lady there training. She trained on our license. Walked out of the office (she wasn't even really COMMUNITY at this point as I couldn't have told you her name!) and honestly thought nothing of it. Then last year I was in Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing and this sweet lady introduces herself and I introduce myself and she says, "I REMEMBER YOU! I trained on marraige license with you and your husband!" COMMUNITY. I got to know her backstage and enjoyed talking to her. After the run of the show came Paddy's Day and I needed a HUGE stockpot to make a dish. I don't have one and so I posted on FB asking for one and she answered and graciously let me borrow hers. COMMUNITY becoming VILLAGE. And over time she has continued to be a friend and become more VILLAGE. She is so supportive and sweet - she and my dad are the only reason I blog really!

Then...a few weeks ago I was sick. As soon as I posted she posted that she'd be bringing me soup. I looked forward to it all week and when she came she brought not only soup but a basket! When I asked about one of the things she blogged the recipe for me! Then I needed advice on something for babysitting and I thought of her and another friend first. She responded with her fabulous Mommy wisdom....and I realized she'd become full blown VILLAGE to me.

I know this isn't a fun and exciting post full of pictures (if I can find one of the basket I will...) and maybe the title isn't the best and maybe it's not what you wanted to read -- but I wanted to document my thoughts on this...It takes a COMMUNITY....to form your VILLAGE.

And quite frankly - I think I have the best of both.

(Look?! I found it!!!)

Guest blogging

I'm guest blogging over at 9PeasMom today!!! It's 9peasmom.blogspot.com

Wordless Wednesday: Gift Giving

(I know it's a bad phone pic - but since I blogged about the gift yesterday and my sister posted this to her blog yesterday - I wanted to share it here...she loved them!)

Back Blogging: A Christmas Gift

My Grandmother is in her 90's. She has had hip surgery and a stroke. She lives in an assisted living community near my parents. She is amazing.

Every year at her birthday, Christmas, Mother's Day, etc, we have many discussion regarding what to get her. She's not the easiest to buy for...and she's in her 90's living in an assisted living community. a small studio apartment and wears the same clothes she's had for years. What to buy her? A new cd? (She has trouble remembering how the CD player works.) A new DVD? (She can't remember how to switch from TV to DVD.) New bath towels and sheets? (She thinks that's just silly.) A new picture? (Only if it's family members!)

For Christmas each year all she asks for is a calendar. My sisters and I make a family calendar each year with pictures of the grandkids and other such pictures. It's her favorite gift. So...what to get her?

This year I decided early on what I was going to do. When we were kids Grandmother sewed. Alot. When shorts were first allowed in school and they had to be super long and you couldn't find them in the store, Grandmother made them. Our Christmas dresses? She made them. My first formal for Brazos Belles in Waco? She made it. But what I think I remember most is that she made us satin pillowcases. Friends, we had THE BEST pillowcases around. Our friends were envious because they were that awesome. (I may or may not be playing this up a tad.)

So, over the summer I learned to sew. It all started with dog harnesses and quickly became a skirt and a dress. Grandmother was so impressed and excited that I was learning that I KNEW for Christmas this year -- yep, Satin Pillowcases.

Can I tell you how nervous I was?! I'd only sewn cotton. And they had to be just right. Alan and I LITERALLY felt EVERY. SINGLE. BOLT. of satin/sateen fabric in Sherman. ALL of Joann's and ALL of Hobby Lobby before I made my pic. Then I decided it needed a bit of embellishment so I added lace.

Then I panicked! I took all my bits to church and a friend at church showed me how to cut them and then talked me through the sewing. Then I went home and was on my own! MY machine. I honestly almost gave up before I started...but perservered and tada -- pillowcases!

Truly a labor of love.

And oh so worth it. When she opened the box with the pillowcases she was speechless. She was so excited to find out I had made them myself. The next day she came over for dinner and told me she'd put them on the bed as decorations -- for anyone to see. It's safe to say she loved them. And I loved making her something she could and would use and enjoy. The joy of it all...