Just Don't Say It.....

The first time I heard the phrase was at my annual physical when I was about 45+. We were living in Delaware and it was just a normal check-up. I went into my doctor with a list of a few questions that I didn't want to forget. The answer to each? "It's a function of your age."

I can't say how many times I've heard those dumb words at other doctor visits. And the latest was when I just tore my meniscus and spent a week or so after the injury trying to navigate on crutches.....failure....and they made every muscle in my arms ache and the arthritis beginning in my wrists hurt like crazy! So I "graduated" to scooting around the condo backward using the "old person walker". That worked a lot better even if it was awkward.

Happily I got to see the orthopedic specialist pretty quickly. The pain was gone and he showed me the results of my MRI and x-rays. Showed me where the meniscus at my right knee had torn. He explained that there are several types of tears, but this one really couldn't be fixed and he would recommend surgery only as a last result. First, since I seemed to be getting around better (slower, but better) I should continue and see if I could get back to what I felt was normal activity for me. If not I should call and go in for some shots that might help.

And then he said it....this type of tear was more common for "women of a certain age". Crap. 

It's that 2020 thing again. Certainly it could be much worse and I could be facing some really difficult health challenges so this will be OK. But I wouldn't care if I ever heard that phrase again. Sigh. 

Mute......

Colder weather means we're spending even more time inside our comfy condo. Still outside to walk Fenway, still going to the grocery store, stopping at the library and stuff like that. But still....a lot of indoor time zooming with family on the computer and a lot of TV time. Friends suggest good movies or a series to stream and we've seen some good stuff. However....as we get closer and closer to November 3rd and election day, every show on regular channels is interrupted over and over and over with political ads. Repetitive political ads. Competing political ads.

So I've gotten really good at hitting the mute button on the remote....I don't even have to look down anymore. It's automatic.

The printing is starting to wear off the little button. We've already voted.....I don't want to hear anymore. I'm just sitting on the couch with the remote in my right hand and fingers crossed on my left. Can't wait until this is over. 2020.....I want the whole year to be over, just over.

Searching For the Pretty.....

Autumn is here and Wisconsin trees boast some beautiful golds/oranges/reds.....and they are pretty. But it also announces the arrival of colder weather and I am just not ready for inside time this year. The drumbeat of political ads, the COVID statistics every day all day.....I can feel my mood darkening. I remind myself that we are two of the fortunate ones....retired, living in a mortgage-free condo, food in the cupboard, adult kids doing well, grandsons all healthy. I remind myself we will get through this and to the other side where COVID is just part of our world and we've learned to live with it.

But still......it's hard to find the positive in my every-day-stay-socially-distant life. But driving down the highway toward Milwaukee yesterday afternoon I was smacked in the face with beauty.

I just had to look up. Mother Nature putting on a display.....and she brightened my day as she did so. I will find the positive.....I just have to look a little harder.

The Supply.....

Two days ago I stopped at our local Walgreens to pick up a prescription. While I was there I asked the pharmacist if they had "senior" flu shots and he said "No." He went on to say that their first supply ran out in three days and then, last week they got 80 vaccines and those ran out in a matter of days. I asked if the pharmacy could call when they got their next batch and he apologized but said that was simply impossible due to the number of seniors who had asked the same question. He went on to say that he hoped to get another supply "maybe" in about ten days....that was a corporate decision.

Hmmmmm.......so I drove home and told Dave we'd have to wait for awhile, but if we couldn't find the recommended senior dosage pretty soon we'd have to just get the regular flu shot this year. Then, that same evening, my neighbor texted that she was able to get her senior shot at our local Walmart.

Early the next morning we jumped in the car and drove on over.....arriving just before the pharmacy section opened. We were the first two "in line", filled out the paperwork, got our shots and were back out the door and on the way home within 30 minutes. Here again the pharmacist said they'd received 60 doses the day before and she expected they would soon run out.

There are thousands of seniors living in Port and the surrounding communities. Thousands of us who believe in the efficacy of vaccines and get our annual flu shots without fail. 

So I began to wonder about the supply chain and just how "corporate" decides that 60 or 80 doses would be a good number and then another bunch could go out maybe two weeks later? And I began to wonder just what the supply chain would look like when there is a tested and approved COVID-19 vaccine maybe sometime in 2021. Just how long would it take for all of us who would feel comfortable doing so could actually get our shot?

If the delivery of senior flu vaccine is this haphazard I can only imagine.....

 

Just Wondering......

 It's a Saturday.....a grey day here in Port and probably on-and-off rain. The whole day feels kind of "uneasy" to me.....because 45 is hospitalized with COVID-19, the election is only a few weeks away and America seems to be in a world of hurt....with so much uncertainty about just what is happening and what might happen.

I look back at 45's 2016 campaign and move into the White House and really just have to wonder. I know many people who just "didn't like" Hillary....who just "couldn't vote for Hillary" or said "I hate Hillary." They either voted for 45....or didn't vote for anyone to fill the highest office in our land.

And so here we are.

IF we'd had President Hillary Rodham Clinton in the oval office would anything have been any different? Well my crystal ball is as good as yours. We would still have had forest fires burning thousands of acres. We would still have had hurricanes come ashore. We would still have to be thinking about climate change. We would still be working to improve health care for our citizens. We would still have a huge gap between the haves and the have-nots. We would still be talking about racism. We would still be facing economic challenges. Probably most of what we face in 2020 would be the same no matter who was at the helm.

BUT I can't help but feel that a President Clinton would have gathered an experienced cabinet right from the get-go. The transition from the Obama administration would have been a smooth one. Once COVID-19 started to rear it's head the response would have been completely different and America would not be looking at more than 200,000 deaths as of October 3rd with so many more to come. You can bet that mask wearing would not have been politicized and that the tone of all presidential announcements would have been so very, very different. I think the anxiety level would have been much, much lower....at least for me.

Can I blame one man for the virus? No. Can I blame one man for the way he handled the response. Yes.

Just wondering......

A Fitting Final......

Dave looked out the window in the late afternoon yesterday and said "I wonder what's going on across the streets with all the men and flags!?" My first thought was that it was some kind of "white power" gathering/protest and my heart sank. Our America just seems so fragile to me right now.....but a closer look put the activity in a different light.

Many of the men were from the American Legion....and they were carefully draping the flags across several tables. Then they gathered and stood with new flags on display and a salute. We couldn't hear any words....but my neighbor texted to say it was a flag "retirement" ceremony. As we stood on our deck to watch and suddenly there was a beautiful rainbow stretching across the lake.

The flames were lit....the flags began to burn.....and I thought to myself "What a fitting way to say goodbye and thank you to our national red, white and blue." 

Another special moment in Port.....I'm glad we were home to share the moment.