Shoveling

I am PROUD of myself! Yesterday I took my walker for a stroll to the sidewalk and, with shovel in hand, we cleared away the snow. This might not sound like much of a feat, but when you look at the males on either side of me who haven't shoveled through two snowfalls, I'm SuperWoman. Much younger males, I might add. Huh.

A sign you're watching too much daytime TV: You start talking to the people in the box as though they could hear or care. I listened to myself ranting yesterday about some of the asinine arguments against rescinding "don't ask/don't tell." Being gay isn't a disease, let alone contagious, so why all of a sudden do some lawmakers think separate housing accommodations would be necessary if gays were known? Haven't they been sleeping in barracks with their fellow men and women quite comfortably for these past years since Mr. Bill convinced the country this weasel tactic of DA/DT was the law of the military? Geesh. Another irony to it all is that the same republican party that argued against the democrat compromise in the Clinton era is now championing it.

I need to get back to being too busy to pay attention to politics. It just makes me mean.

I'm experiencing a couple of minor setbacks to recovery these past couple of days. First, my RBC (red blood cell) count is 8.8 and should be at least 12. Suggestions from my doctor include 325 mg. of iron twice daily. Can't do that, tried it once and was convinced I'd die from stomach pain and inability to eat without disastrous GI consequences best left to the imagination. Next suggestion? Liver, red meat, dark green veggies. I can do the last but no more liver is crossing this tongue, trust me. I ate enough with my dad back in the day just because he loved it so and invited me to dinner once a week to enjoy along with him. It's one of those things that now I'm glad I did, but he's gone and I don't have to fake liver-love any more!

So it's veggies and vitamin C which you smart people know will help absorb iron. I learned that my yogurt should be eaten separately from iron as dairy products tend to block absorption. Ah, the joys of Internet research. I do this stuff long enough and I'll be an expert on a bunch of nothing.

My incision decided to open up a bit yesterday and annoy me. Doctor says it's normal and if still oozing and dripping (it's that gross-out thing from Stephen King) tomorrow, off to the doc I go. I'm hoping for cooperation. I recognize the smell of medical facilities a mile away now and am afraid it's a stench permanently entrenched in my nostrils. If you've ever taken Fido to the vet, you know the reaction when he first gets wind of where he's headed. That's me, pulling at the leash and gnawing at my arm to get free.

Aaron went home from the hospital yesterday. Before he left, he was getting a bath while I talked to my son on the phone, so I got to hear him cry. I loved it - nice lusty lungs to prove he's capable of interrupting a night's sleep. Does that mean I'm wishing for my own kids what they dished out to me? Sure does and it's the Beerma prerogative.

Shower time.