My gosh here it is May already! Roses are blooming, some of the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom around us, songbirds are chirping and the oak pollen is finally done! Unfortunately we’ve had no significant rainfall and I transplanted a fern from houseplant to proper yard plant, I’m not supposed to have plants in the house because of allergies. So we just have some aloe Vera and a Christmas cactus that gets the left over water. Our grader put grass seed down along with fertilizer and of course lime because everything requires lime in my neck of the woods. I’ve been watering 3 times a day to keep it moist but it should have started coming up. I’ll be a bit peeved if it doesn’t, I imagine. I’ll go down to twice a day. The river basin is in a drought watch soon to go up to Stage 2 if we don’t get rain. It’s all good, BH and I live on a well.
We both grew up in Southern California and we’ve always pretty much lived as if we are in a drought. I much prefer living with a well than using city/county water ever since my teenage days when I saw things swimming around in the glass of water I got from the tap. You should have seen my Mom! She grabbed that glass of water, got in her car and raced up to the treatment facility that served our area of L.A. County. We had to boil water for everything related to our health, the dogs and cats but we couldn’t for the horses although we tried for the first week. We couldn’t keep up with their requirements and for me to go to school, my eldest brother to work and both parents working. Mom even refused to let us take showers, so we did wash offs as they refer to them here in the South, Dad of course had a different name for a boiled pot of water and wash cloth with a little soap. When we were finally able to shower, Mom set the egg timer. The same timer that limited our telephone calls because back then, phone calls cost money. We had local calls which were not charged extra but go outside the local area and then there were toll calls or long distance calls. Both parents worked past the local call area and we were never allowed to call them unless we were dead or dying. The one and only time I called Mom at work, the first thing she asked was who died. It was also the first time I was completely overwhelmed. Went to my sister’s to watch and feed her children dinner so she and her husband could go out. I was probably 16 or 17 at the time. Not a clean dish in sight, and I couldn’t find anything to cook. Yes I could cook back then, Mom started teaching all four of us about the time we were tall enough to stand on a chair and help stir or dice, or shred cheese. Mom got me squared away and she came as soon as she got off work to help.
But back to drought conditions, do you think I should tell BH to limit shower time to 3 minutes per Stage 1 drought conditions? Heck no, not if I value my life! I’d rather do a few wash offs and allow BH the extra time in the shower. Life is full of compromises, right?! Maybe I can put a 5 gallon bucket or two in the shower while waiting for the hot water to get to the bathroom and use it on the fern and the candytuft that was moved and allegedly replanted. We haven’t planted the raised bed area where the new French drain went in so there’s a positive. It will have drip irrigation anyways until the plants don’t need it anymore. Maybe this Fall I can get something in…I’ll let you know of course.
How does this relate to cerebral aneurysms? I think droughts and aneurysms are very similar. We get news that we have one or we are waiting for another image or angiogram to show us how it’s doing if we’ve been coiled and or stented. Maybe we are waiting for a craniotomy. Like living in a drought area, we either change and adapt or completely ignore it. Perhaps some get apprehensive with the what if’s. If our well isn’t deep enough what if it dries out and collapses? If our coils compact will we end up with yet another attempt? What about all the risks any procedure comes with? What do we do then?
Heck we breathe, we hydrate, we try to follow the rules we get to the best of our ability. We reduce our stress levels with relaxation breathing. We brainstorm either by ourselves or with others to come up with plans and questions. We learn to appreciate those we love, things we love and we take a bit of time to see the beauty that’s all around us. We learn something new, we try some type of hobby. We can control these things, we can’t control Mother Nature, nor can we completely control what’s happening in our brains. We can certainly help out both. What are you going to do this week to help yourself? Now on to welcoming!
@JanC is in the Southeastern part of the USA and had coiling. She’s 5 weeks out and struggling. We can help out with our experiences, but you’ll need to start a new topic so we know what you need.
@Keon is up in Ohio. Keon had a craniotomy when he was 13 for a ruptured aneurysm back in 2009. He shares he is 34 now and still trying to figure it all out. Keon shares he is very kind hearted and loves to cook! Glad you found us Keon, hoping to read more of your story!
That’s the round up this week y’all! Remember to help each other whenever you can. If you’ve been helped, pass it forward to others. It’s what we’re all about.
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Have a great week!