A scare, and maybe a wake-up call

A favorite picture of Larry.

Long story short, all is well.

Yesterday started out just another Tuesday. Layout day at the paper. A busy day, a long day, but a normal Tuesday.

When Larry called me a little before noon, I thought he was calling me to see if I was ready for lunch.

“You doing OK?” I asked, without even thinking about it.

“Well, I don’t know,” he said.

“What’s wrong?”

“I know it’s your busy day at work, but I think I need you to take me to the doctor,” he said.

He had been to the Y, walking on the track. He planned to walk for 45 minutes. During minute 44, he felt what he described as a “thump” around his heart, got dizzy and felt like he was going to pass out.

He was able to lean up against the wall, then sat down for a while before going home. He thought maybe he needed to see a doctor.

I rushed home.

A little background. Larry has had several episodes over the last few months where he felt weak and dizzy. Sometimes he felt pressure in his chest, but he thought it was his hiatal hernia and heartburn. He wouldn’t go see the doctor.

I knew that if he was asking me to take him to the doctor, he thought something was wrong. Which meant, to me, that something really might be wrong.

I insisted on taking him to the emergency room. There was no need to take the time to go see the doctor, I said.

Larry wouldn’t let me call EMS. And he didn’t want me to speed. Regardless of how fast I drove, though, I felt like the car was moving in slow motion.

I got him to Lynchburg General Hospital in Lynchburg, and they took him right back. They immediately hooked him up to a heart monitor and did an EKG, then blood work. Then, because he had been exercising when the episode happened, they had him do a stress test.

Everything came back normal.

They don’t know what the “thump” was. But his heart looks good.

On the way home, Larry said, “Well, I guess I shouldn’t have called you.”

“I’m glad you called me,” I said.

It’s much better to have something checked out and be nothing than to take a chance, I said.

I think Larry was most upset because he couldn’t go as long on the treadmill during the stress test as he thought he should have. He was out of shape.

But they put it on an incline, and the technician warned him ahead of time that it would be hard. They needed to get his heart rate up.

I told him that it was perhaps a good kind of wake-up call. He hadn’t been to the Y for a few months. He needed to exercise more for his health.

Larry is doing fine now. He’s watching one of his favorite TV shows, “Justified,” right now. Chase Bird sits on his lap, then jumps down and walks around, then jumps back up.

And me? I’m incredibly grateful for good test results.

Have you had any wake-up calls lately?

Falling leaves and random thoughts

Nancy at A Rural Journal has suspended the Random 5 Friday meme for now, but I can’t get out of the habit of sharing randoms on Friday. Nancy is sharing her Random 5 on her blog today, too, so be sure and visit her!

Leaves in the driveway.

Leaves in the yard.

Leaves on top of the car.

One

We have leaves. So many leaves. Something told the trees to let ‘em loose, and down they came and keep on coming. Larry has been busy blowing them to the curb for town pickup, but they are quickly replaced in the yard. It’s a weeks-long chore.

Two

Sweet Larry gave me flowers for our anniversary. I usually have Thursdays off, but I had to go in during the afternoon to do an assignment. He had the flowers sent to the office so I’d be surprised when I went in. Ten years equals 10 red roses and two pink ones to make a dozen.

Three

Notice the cat calendar beside the flowers? Every Christmas, Larry gives me the tabletop calendar that you “flip” halfway through the year. It features lovely photos of cats and tidbits, observations and quotes about felines.

I keep it on top of the filing cabinet in my office so I can look over from my work and see a pretty cat photo. I love it.

Four

It was on such a calendar that I first found this quote: "You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." (I’ve seen the source listed as anonymous and as Colonial proverb.)

I don’t know how lucky Larry and I are, but strange cats just seem to like us.

Thursday evening, Larry and I went to a local restaurant for our anniversary dinner. It’s the same restaurant where we saw a stray peacock back in the spring.

This time, a pretty gray and white cat walked up as we waited outside for the restaurant to open. She lay down on Larry’s feet, and then she came over to me and rubbed against my legs. I reached down to pet her, and she immediately jumped up with her front paws against my leg. I think she wanted me to pick her up.

The hostess told us she just showed up this week. I don’t know if she’s wandered permanently from home or what, but I worried about her being in a busy parking lot. It’s just not the time for us to bring home another cat, but I hope this little one will be OK.

Five

Considering my OCD used to manifest itself through extreme hand washing and fear of germs, it’s nothing short of a miracle—and I don’t use that word lightly—that I’m able to have a cat and make friends with new animals.

The love of my cats helped bring me out of a lot of my OCD fears. I am forever grateful for them.

Chase Bird in a bag.

10 years

Larry and I will celebrate our 10^th wedding anniversary this week.

In some ways, 10 years seems like a long time. A lot has changed in our lives over that time.

And yet, 10 years is but just a segment of what I hope is a much longer life together.

We were planning a small church wedding for January 2004. But our plans changed.

In late summer 2003, I moved out of the house I had rented in Rustburg for a few years and moved in with my mother for the few months before we got married. Larry and I moved most of my furniture and things into the house he already had in Altavista.

One evening after work, I was over at Larry’s and he asked me if I would ever consider eloping.

We talked about it and decided that we wanted to get married sooner rather than wait for January. But I didn’t want to go off and get married with no family there. So we decided to get married at the courthouse by the judge.

We set a date with the circuit court judge for Nov. 7, and that’s the day we got married. My mother and brothers and Larry’s parents and daughter were present.

Larry was sick that week with a really bad sinus infection, complete with a fever. Occasionally, when we talk about our wedding, Larry laughs and says he doesn’t remember the ceremony. So are we really married? he asks.

Oh, yes, I tell him. I have pictures to prove it.

Here’s one of those pictures:

I didn’t get married until I was 40 years old. I was engaged to someone else long ago, before I met Larry.

I’m so glad I waited for the right one: Larry.

Random 5 Friday: Our Baby Sam

Hello, dear readers, and happy Friday to you! I’m joining in Random 5 Friday, hosted by the wonderful Nancy of A Rural Journal, when, as she says, “you can share 5 random facts about you, your day, your pets, your kids, whatever!”

One

Our cat Sam has been sick this week.

She has an ongoing problem with constipation which sometimes requires intervention by the vet. On Monday night, we had to take her to the emergency animal hospital. She was in pain and had struggled for hours to poop.

The treatment apparently aggravated her arthritis, which left her barely able to walk. She saw her regular vet on Tuesday and Wednesday. X-rays showed arthritis in her spine, hips and ankles, but no fractures or dislocations, thank goodness.

She has been on pain medication, and she’s moving around a little now and is looking better.

Sam in the carrier right after the procedure Monday night, before we knew that her arthritis was flaring.

Two

Sam will be 17 years old in October. Larry has had her since she was a kitten, before my time. He said she was so tiny as a kitten, he could carry her around on one hand.

Three

I came into Sam’s life when Larry and I started dating in 1999. I became her mom when we got married in 2003. Sam likes me and trusts me, but she adores her Larry. It is very sweet to see.

I think I've posted this photo before, but it's one of my favorites: Sam and Larry.

Four

Wednesday was a really hard day while we waited for results from Sam’s X-rays. Larry asked me to discuss things with the vet because he was too upset to talk.

It’s hard to accept the fact that your cat is an “old lady,” as our vet called her. It’s hard to accept that you are going to lose her someday. It has to be accepted, of course, but it’s hard to lose a loved one, as all of you know.

Sam is doing better, for which we are so grateful. I hope that she has more good years ahead of her. And I hope that I have the good sense to cherish each day I have with her and Chase Bird and my Larry.

Sam in her fluff bed. I call her Baby Sam sometimes. She seems to like it.

Five

Larry and I seem to trade off being the strong one when needed. Not that both of us can’t be strong at the same time. But when Waddles was so sick, Larry was the stoic one while I cried myself sick. With Sam, though I cried, too, I kept it to myself and tried to be upbeat and positive for Larry.

It works for us. We lean on each other when we need to. That’s a comfort.

Gratitude post

Today I am thankful for many things. Here are a few of them:

*The good report my husband received from his doctor.

*Cool mornings, cool nights, cool breezes during the day.

*The quilt that keeps me warm during the cool nights.

*Nature on the fence.

*The sound of my kitty Sam’s deep breaths as she sleeps in her little bed beside me.

*The feeling of Chase Bird’s purrs as I hold him and place my cheek against his fur.

*Getting lost in a good mystery book.

*Time spent with cousins I haven’t seen in years.

*The fact that there are always new things to learn.

*My camera.

*The shape of leaves against the sky.

What are you grateful for today?

My favorite person



Larry on the banks of the Staunton River.

There’s no one I would rather spend time with or talk with or listen to than my husband Larry. He’s quiet and unpretentious. He’s also smart and funny and kindhearted, and I love him dearly.

To illustrate that I’m not just generally gushing about the man, I’m using my five random facts this week to talk about Larry.

You can join in with Random 5 Friday at Nancy’s A Rural Journal. It’s fun!

One

Larry has known about my OCD and depression since we started dating. But I know it must have been hard on him once we got married. I’ve had some hard times with the depression especially, and I know that’s not always easy to live with.

He’s not the type to ask a lot of questions about how I feel. He’s very practical and solution-driven. In the past, that bothered me. I wanted him to show he cared by asking me for details, by talking often and openly about the OCD and depression.

I have come to my senses, though. He shows his support by loving me unconditionally, even when I’m an irritable mess. He shows his support by picking up the slack at home and taking care of so many of the responsibilities when I’m not feeling my best. His dependability, his sense of humor, his gentle heart and his love all tell me what I need to know: he will be there for me.

Two

Animals are drawn to Larry. All he has to do is say hi to a neighborhood cat, and he or she wants to move in with us. When we visit his cousin, who has a sweet dog named Misty, she’s often found curled up at his feet.

Larry still talks about his boyhood dog, Shep. They were best friends.

And I can’t say enough about Larry’s tender heart when it comes to our cats, Sam and Chase. He helps tend to them so cheerfully and lovingly. Sometimes I’ll hear him in the next room, talking to them. Then he’ll come to me and tell me what the kitties told him, funny stories that always make me laugh.

Larry also enjoys watching wildlife. The other night, he arrived home from the grocery store and parked in our lower driveway. He called me on the phone and told me to look out the back window. There in the backyard were two deer lying in the grass. He wanted me to see them before he scared them off by walking across the yard.

Three

Larry stands up for the underdog. He does not suffer bullies nor does he like to see others taken advantage of or mistreated. I am very proud of him for this. When he faces a situation that calls for speaking truth to power, he’s calm, circumspect and always respectful.

Four

Like you, me and everyone else, Larry isn’t perfect. I used to try to change him (why do we do that to each other?). That’s another thing I finally came to my senses about. He doesn’t need to change. He is who he is, and I accept him.

Now, my chief concern is for Larry to be happy, content and to know he’s loved.

We argue and disagree about things. But we have the same basic values, and we always find a way to resolve things. Sometimes it takes a while. But I never doubt that we will.

Though Larry does have this habit of keeping the house too hot in the summertime. He wants to save on electricity. I want to stop sweating. That’s an ongoing battle. Not a serious one, though.

Five

Larry attended Virginia Tech. I attended the University of Virginia. In Virginia, that means we’re rivals.

We’ve managed to live peacefully together, despite our different loyalties. During football season, it’s a little intolerable because Virginia Tech has a far superior team. But I’ve been nice about it (usually), and I’ve even given him Virginia Tech clothing.

Larry claims that our cats are Virginia Tech Hokies. I say they’re Virginia Cavaliers. The cats just smile.

Who is your favorite person?

Giving thanks for my husband

The winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is Elizabeth. I have emailed you the code for the gift card. Congratulations, and thank you and all my readers for your support of this blog!

***

I’m going to use this time before Thanksgiving to give thanks for some of the many blessings in my life.

Today I’m giving thanks for my husband.

Larry and I recently celebrated our ninth wedding anniversary. I am forever thankful that I married him.

Words that describe Larry include stalwart, dependable, honest, intelligent, trustworthy, generous, kind and capable.

He had a long career with state government, and he’s now enjoying retirement.

He’s been busy with some renovations to the house, and he’s doing a great job. He’s meticulous and creative in his work. When he’s come up against obstacles, I haven’t worried and I’ve told him not to worry, because I know he’s going to figure out the problem. And he always does.

Larry is smart and analytical. He is also very softhearted and kind. He loves the cats as much as I do and willingly and wonderfully shares in the care of them.

He is a quiet man, and when he speaks his mind, I listen, because I know he has given the subject a lot of thought.

Larry is very supportive of me in my struggles with OCD, depression and anxiety. He has willingly learned more about the disorders. He’s patient with me sometimes beyond measure. And he can make me laugh when I need to laugh.

He’s not perfect, as I’m not, but he’s my best friend and my beloved husband.

Who is one of the persons you are thankful for and why?