Monday, July 12, 2010

The Scars of All I'll Ever Know

This weekend in my garden; the gerbera daisies, lupin, black eyed susans and the cone flowers were all in bloom. I think next year my garden will be a hundred times better. This year I was just trying to figure how much sun it would get and how much room some things were going to take up.

Today was a day of me taking care of bidness. As you know, I'm not much good at the practical stuff, but I sure like it when it's done. So, I finally called the termite guy back. He never got back to me after his initial visit. He told me it could be a while to look up the price of the original treatment, but I thought a month and a half was excessive. I asked my friend Michelle when I saw her at the Dublin on Friday and she said to definitely call them. I did that today and the guy was really nice and apologetic. He said he would come by on Wednesday or Thursday and treat that area and said he'd charge me $120 this time and then every year after to keep them from coming back. That sounded reasonable.

I also got my results back from the plasma place and my protein was finally within approved levels. I donated tonight after work. It's definitely not my favorite thing to do, but I need the money right now, and so at least for the next couple of months, I'll continue donating. I also told myself if I donated tonight, I could laze about when I got home and watch a bunch of house hunting shows on HGTV. I love looking into people's homes and they make me feel so laid back in comparison.

My flower attracting some wildlife.

I got a text from Stinky when I was at work today. She asked me if she could go with her friend Em and volunteer at the hospital. I told her what I'm sure all of you would say too: "Hell no! What did I tell you and your sister about all your little do-gooder projects?"....Just kidding. I thought it was great.

She and her friend helped a family from Wisconsin who had a premature baby in the NICU and two other daughters who were 5 and 7. The little girls were tired of sitting around and their parents were feeling guilty about not letting them play and not being able to give their preemie the attention she needed either. So, Stinky and her friend took the little girls for a couple of hours. They went to the kids playground and the library. Stinky said it brought back a lot of memories from when she was sick. She said there was a little 4 year old boy who was hooked up to a machine and he had to be so careful how he moved, so he didn't pull out any tubes. Stinky had forgotten that feeling until today. She was attached to an IV pole for her entire stay in the hospital. She wasn't strong enough to move much, but she remembered being scared that it would get pulled out when we wheeled her around in her chair.

I asked her if she was glad she went, or if it brought back too many bad memories. Stinky said she was glad she went and she wants to do it again. Even though it was a little weird at first, she thought it was good to go back to the scene of her illness now that she's well and can run around with kids on the playground.

13 comments:

rel said...

Churlita,
Lending a hand to other folks just because we can brings such immense psychological rewards!
Go Stinky!
rel

laura b. said...

How wonderful for parents and kids to have volunteers like Stinky and her friend around! That is so nice.

Tara said...

Hospitals always bring back mixed memories. That was really good of her to volunteer there.

Ananda girl said...

I am sure that those parents were extremely grateful for the help. Good for Stinky and her friend!

Your garden is lovely. They evolve. I love to watch them change and fill in over time.

My comment word is "lusha"... which is what your garden will be...lush!

crazy4coens said...

Beautiful flowers and generous people......that's how the world should be! Well done.

3GKnight said...

Good think you got the termites taken care of. They can be a pain if they're left alone too long.

Never really considered donating plasma. Was a regular blood donor back in CA, but haven't gotten back into it. I'm a universal donor and they'd call me the minute I was eligible again. How long does donating plasma take?

SkylersDad said...

We just returned from Skyler's PET scan at Childrens, and a visit there always brings back a lot of memories. Both good and bad.

Johnny Rojo said...

Sometimes it is good to return to the "scene of the crime." When I was finishing my nursing school application a year and a half ago, I had to drive out to my high school, in Lagrange, Illinois, to get my transcripts. It was weird being out there-- I rarely go back-- and even stranger being in my old high school, which I hadn't been in since about 1980. Brought back both good and bad memories.

NoRegrets said...

what a wonderful kid... and my how your garden grows!

booda baby said...

Wow, the Churlita household's doing JUST great these days! What a good Stinky story.

Did she go to the U hospital? It's so nice and shiny and hotel-like - comforting to adults, but probably pretty bewildering to kidlets.

Junkgirl said...

The flowers are just beautiful!

MrManuel said...

What a good deed by Stinky! Good job and very cool!

Churlita said...

Thanks guys for all the props for Stinky...And most importantly, my garden. Just kidding again.