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| Me and Bill back in the day. Philadelhia rooftop of our center city townhouse 1976. |
My brother John is in the ground now. I hear this internment ceremony went well. My other brother and his son and daughter-in-law all agreed that brother John got a proper sendoff.
It's still hard for me to believe that I'll never be able to call John whenever I felt like it and to just talk and chat with him. Just another adjustment in my life at this time of my Last Act.
Bill continues to hold steady. This morning was Shower Morning, which he absolutely hates. Every third morning is Shower Morning. The other mornings we just change his Depends and wash down is private parts and lower legs which have edema and open wounds. The one open wound is almost healed this morning so maybe tomorrow morning I can dispense with the dressings.
Our backyard is slowly recovering from the Army worm devastation of last summer. Still big patches of brown, dead grass but new patches are popping up. Today we had rain which will help more grass to grow, especially from all that seed that I spread last year.
I notice lately I've been losing my appetite which of course results in my losing weight. I need to lose about five pounds and a couple inches around my waist. Tired of carrying this "baby" around my middle.
Every night for years I've been having a snack before I go to bed. Oh I know eating before you go to bed is bad for you but this habit developed many years ago when I started a discipline of eating nothing between meals. I had gained about fifty pounds (from 160 to 202 pounds) during my hernia surgery recuperation. I had a hard time losing that weight but once I got my self down into the 160 range I would treat myself to a small snack in the evening before I went to bed. I weighed 162 as of this morning but those pounds have shifted from muscle to flab around my middle. Oh I know this sounds disgusting and probably boring but this is the state of this once young svelte 6'3'' Ron. Now I'm just one of those old skinny men with a pot belly.
Oh, by the way. Something funny happened the other day when one of Bill's substitute hospice nurses stopped by to check on Bill. During out chat she asked me if Bill "had any other sons besides me." Well, that UPLIFTED my spirits. I've been looking rather haggard lately and feeling really old. Of course I told her "I'm not Bill's son, I'm his husband. We married VERY YOUNG." Poor woman, she jerked back initially shocked they quickly regained her composure. Later I told Bill "I should have told her I was your grandson." The nerve.
That's it for today folks. I didn't want to leave that picture and posting of my brother's casket on my blog for days like I do some other blog postings.
9 comments:
I can’t picture you ever weighing over 200 pounds. My image of you has always been that of a tall thin person. I’m only about 10 pounds less than that myself, I would like to lose 10-15 pounds but I’ll never be anywhere near 160. I just enjoy eating too much I guess.
About that test you had the other day… I think a low blood oxygen level is one sign of Covid, have you been tested for that? If you don’t have one, you should purchase a ‘Fingertip Pulse Oximeter’ so you can monitor your blood oxygen level yourself regularly. I bought one a while back, it was less than $30 from Amazon. I hope the test the doctor did doesn’t show up anything bad.
Jim
Jim,
I've always been thing except for that one time in my life after several operations to try and get rid of the staph infection I had contacted from a hernia operation when I was 17 years old. Sorry for the long sentence there. I was very inactive for that six months and I snacked too much (whole bags of potato chips). I wasn't comfortable with all that weight and vowed to lose it which I did. Never again.
Ron
You are just as handsome now as then. Of course my eye sight is going. Just kidding. Now you have me wishing I had bag of chips. It's mostly air so it's not that bad for you. LOL.
Jeff,
I weaned myself off of potato chips many years ago But I am addicted to quoin chips and hummus. I've convinced myself that it's "healthy" for me.
Ron
Honey, Daddy, I am about 6 feet 2 inches-maybe a little less with age-but if I ever get down to 160, folks will do an intervention and have me hooked up to a feeding tube. I am about 196 now and would like to hover between 193-195. I was always tall a lean. When I was 27 I just enlisted in the Air Force and my weight was around 175. In basic, I was more active than I had ever been. I had my eating habits down. At that age, I was never much a junk food person and ate sensible meals. In basic very little of the food appealed to me. Too much fatty, fried food. I was put on notice. They thought I was sabotaging myself by losing weight. No such thing. I ate what I could stomach. Breakfast food was easy. But lunch and dinner was another story. We had two fittings of our dress blues-the fancy uniforms. In the end, I was so close to being resized. I actually had folks assigned to me to ensure I ate. Starting running and lifting weights and the rest is history at 65-birthday in May.
Vic,
Interesting that you lost weight while you were in Basic Training. I don't remember the fat and greasy foods. What I do remember is after I got ut of Basic, was the veal. Veal, veal, veal. Veal chops, veal stew, veal soup. I hate veal. I wasn't too fussy about food in my youth but I didn't do the grease too much. And I definitely didn't do the andy and snacks in between meals. These days I listen to my body. Lately I don't even have a taste for sweets. I'm losing weight. I fed I'll have to answer that question "Any unexplained weight loss lately?" on the doctor's forms. I don't know why but I'm losing it. However, I did make a great hamburger soup yesterday. Maybe I have vary my diet.
Ron
Ron---I had veal once or twice---Don't care for it---I place it in the same box as liver---Your weight loss could be stress-induced---As long as you are being monitored by your PCP you are fine---Continue to drink your water and sensable meals----Remember the body, for a male, needs at least 2,000 calories a day just to keep the body burning at full throttle---Sednentary male----A little more if one is active---
Vic,
Our family never ate "baby animal" meats growing up because my father had worked in a slaughterhouse when he was a teenager. I've never eaten lamb nor will I ever. I've smelled it when cooking, it stinks. Ft Meade must have had plenty of veal because they served a LOT of it.
Ron
I enjoyed reading your updates.
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