Monday morning musings...

Mid August seems to be slowing things down a bit for me.  I was going to say physically, but I think mentally too..  Dog daze?  Maybe.

I've seemed to be busy, but when I think about it, I feel that I haven't been doing as much.  Weird huh?  Guess I've been kept busy doing chores and the stuff that has to get done, but not much time left over for pursuing personal interests.  I want to do lots of things, and there's either not enough energy, time or money.  Guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.  One of my dad's old sayings.  :)

I only rode Eagle once last week, and so far it's not looking real promising this week due to the expected heat.  There.  I'l blame the heat.  It zaps me and takes so much more effort to do anything!
I'm hopeful that it's not too hot Tuesday evening when I have a scheduled lesson with Jess.  I've grown  a bit weary of riding at home, without access to the orchard or any trails, or good footing - our choices are limited.  How I long for a nice, not too deep sand arena, heaven!  But we make due, and I need to ride my horse.  Last lesson was alright, we focused mainly on trotting with straightness.  Not great.  Eagle is so willful and he makes me work so hard.  Combine that with the heat and I feel like I make progress when he wins no battles.  Dang!  With footing I'd feel a lot more comfortable asking for more speed, so he's working harder physically, so I may trailer to an inside arena not too far from home.  We need variety and mental engagement.  He can be so very opinionated and without using too much rein, that's the best idea I can come up with.  Maybe if I can tire him out, he'll be a bit more willing to see things my way.   Or, I need to get more creative with my horse's education, so it's his choice to work harder, and not me.  I've been following Linda's journey with her horse, Leah...sounds like her mare and my boy have a lot in common...    *hope springs eternal*  :)

just us "girls"  ha!

Saturday was my sister's 75th birthday.  Wow - hard to believe that my sister is 75 years old.  We gathered at her home for burgers and birthday cake.  You have to eat cake on your birthday, right?  She was fortunate that she got to come home on her birthday.  You see, she's been in the hospital since early last Wednesday morning.  The day of my cousin Sue's memorial service.  We thought her unusual behavior was brought on by stress and the shock of losing our cousin.  We now believe she had a stroke the morning Sue died.  And then on the morning of the service, another one.  Long story, but she woke up feeling very wrong.  She describes it as the most horrible feeling of extreme dizziness, nausea and confusion.  I've noticed her disorientation lately and difficulty hearing and remembering things.  Thinking she'd told me something and me knowing that she hadn't.  Worrisome and irritating. Speaking only for myself, but I seem to have the least patience with the people in life that I love the most.  Is that because we spend so much more time with them, or is it just the intimacy, shared histories that we have?  Thoughts to ponder...I would very much like to change that about myself.  Anyway, my sister was taken to the ER and they've diagnosed a stroke.  MRI shows no residual damage to the brain.  She has no paralysis or slurred speech, but is weak and needs to use a walker for now.  They also found a tumor on her brain that is the cause of her loss of hearing, dizziness and nausea.   Two completely unrelated diagnoses.  We're not sure if it's surgical or if best to leave well enough alone, in which case she'd have to live the remainder of her life with the symptoms she's now showing.  Time and more looking into things will tell.  At her age, I'd think any kind of brain surgery might be too risky.  But doctors say overall, she is strong and healthy for a woman of her age.  That's good news.  I hope she's thankful to have the knowledge of what's going on and take this opportunity to learn more about what she can do to prolong her health and appreciate her life more for whatever time she has left.  It's a wake-up call for sure.  Amazes me again, just how quickly life can change.  Her doctor stressed that it was a benign tumor.  Based on his experience and the location.  I believe he can't be sure without a biopsy, and if surgery isn't a safe option, then what else would he tell her?  A second opinion with a brain surgeon has been scheduled sometime this week.  Hopefully this doctor will be able to give us some more information and hopefully, some good news.  She already feels better because the motion sickness meds she's taking have reduced the dizziness, which is likely causing the nausea.  One step at a time...

So, her birthday was good.  We were all relaxed and low-key, enjoyed the day and just spent some time with one another.  It was a hot, summer afternoon and overall, a good day.  I'm thankful we were all together to celebrate and smile.

How will you be spending your dog daze of summer???