January 31, 2015
3:48 p.m.

I am well aware that it's been ages since my last post. There will be no need to remind me what a bad girl I am. Haha!

Well, I am back home after a seven week visit in Oklahoma. I got back on the 28th, and came home to a house that had been rearranged in my absence.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I do not do well with change. I mean, I had been forewarned, but it is still a stressful thing for me to have to deal with changes within my own personal space.

I'm happy to say that the changes are all good ones. They were done to accommodate a bigger television with 3-D capability. My desk has been relocated and I can actually see the t.v. as I'm sitting here typing. The room appears bigger, etc.

That being said, I will still have to get used to it. I'm an old stick-in-the-mud, I admit it. Bear with me.
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The visit was great, wonderful and terrific. I was so sad to leave and come home. Retired or not, I have obligations and had to return, but it was tough! I wanted to stay with my babies.

It's really come home to me how hard it is to live so far away from family. I have family here in Colorado that I don't want to leave, and family in Oklahoma that I just had to leave, and family in Wyoming that I left fifteen years ago. Yes, I visit. They visit. But I honestly wish we all lived closer. Either that or I wish someone would finally invent the transporter so I could beam myself around. (I'd do it myself, but I'm not that smart!)

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So, it's good and bad to be home. I will get used to my new place in the living room, and I will get busy with my studies and maybe make some new jewelry, and while I'm at it, I will save up for another trip.  

I miss you, Oklahoma family! I love you.

And to all of you--good evening!

January 7, 2015
10:22 p.m.

It has been a busy few days. I suppose it's time to catch you up.

When last I checked in, my daughter was checked in to the hospital for balloon dilation in hopes of inducing her labor without drugs. I had come back to her place to try to get some sleep.

Well, big surprise (not): that didn't happen. I didn't sleep a wink.

I was back at the hospital before 6 a.m. They had removed the balloon devise at 3:30, saying the baby "didn't like it." My red flag went up.

Nevertheless, they went ahead and introduced labor inducing drugs. While my daughter had been having contractions all night, things had not progressed as hoped; now her contractions were getting stronger and more regular, but I was aware that with each one, the baby's heart rate would drop, then recover.

This sort of rate drop and recovery I've seen time and again during the late stages of labor, but not when the mother has only dilated to one-and-a-half centimeters. I remained outwardly nonchalant, but inside I was getting worried.

You see, my daughter had developed gestational diabetes in the last few months of her pregnancy, and it can cause some serious complications. She managed very well to control her blood sugar through diet and exercise, and the baby had not become excessively large as often happens, but there are always concerns.

I was really keeping my eye on the monitor during contractions, and waiting for someone to come in and call for a change of plans.

It wasn't a very long wait. A nurse came in and removed the drip line feeding the labor-inducing drug. She quickly left the room and another came in and told us that the doctor was coming in to explain why they were stopping labor. Then the first nurse motioned the second nurse to come out into the hall, and she said, "Hold that thought," and left the room.

Well, my daughter and her husband were bewildered. I had already anticipated and expected this, so I told them, "I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to prepare yourself for being told that this is going to be a cesarean birth."

"But I don't want a cesarean!" my daughter wailed.

"It doesn't matter what you want," I explained. "It only matters what you and the baby need."

"Do I have to?"

"I'm pretty sure that's what your doctor is coming to tell you."

"AW!"

Sure enough, in came the doctor--a pretty, petite blond with a wide open friendly smile--who proceeded to explain what was happening, why it wasn't working out, and what the new plan was.

Gestational Diabetes can cause the placenta--baby's nine-month home--to age prematurely. This weakens the organ's walls so that when it contracts to squeeze the baby out, it fails to do its job well.
The cervix doesn't dilate, the baby doesn't move down the birth canal, and labor goes on and on without progressing, eventually leading to fetal heart distress and an emergency run to the operating room for a C-section. The doctor's plan: skip all the distress of hours of waiting for the probability of
the same outcome, and go straight away to the OR.

Within minutes, they were on their way.

Now, I admit wholeheartedly that I was disappointed. I love being witness to the miracle of birth. Added to that, the doctor told me that per policy, if two people went to the OR to witness the procedure, mother and baby would not be able to have immediate skin-to-skin contact, but would have to wait until they were back in their room. Far be it for me to deny my daughter that experience, or even think of her husband not being in the room with her. I waved good-bye to them as they wheeled her out the door.

Due to her new status as an OR patient, she would be changing rooms. I got a cart, packed up all our goodies and moved everything to the new room. Then I WAITED. Ugh.

8:22 a.m. and I was a grandmother for the eighth time.

It doesn't matter how they're delivered, as long as they arrive safely. She is beautiful and healthy and we could never ask for more.

The doctor came and spoke with me, saying that the placenta had indeed been incredibly aged. Great call, doctor!
 
The rest of the day was hectic, with numerous tests, visitors, phone calls, etc.

The baby proved to be a willing and quick-learning nurser, and proceeded to eat the day away.

By the time I came home, all I wanted to do was spoil the dogs a little and go to bed.

After all that not-sleeping, I fell asleep easily--and woke up two hours later. I managed to go back to sleep for almost two more hours, so come three a.m. I was up. Bummer.

Yesterday the baby and her mama mostly wanted to sleep, but Mama did some walking and got a shower.

Today was a quiet day, and tomorrow they get to come home! That's exciting, right?

My daughter has a good man. He spent his day off shampooing the carpets and getting the house ready for wife and daughter to come home. I'm really proud of him.

Big sister and big brother sure love their new sister. I can't wait for all the noise to commence tomorrow afternoon. Right now it's just me and the dogs. (Who I have apparently spoiled rotten!)

I'm feeling quite blessed tonight, and I fully intend to sleep late tomorrow. Good night!

January 4, 2015
11:28 p.m.

The girl is in hospital, has had balloon dilation started as of 9:30, and the waiting begins. Hopefully she will need no further intervention to begin labor, but if she does, they will induce at 5:30 a.m.

So here I sit, all alone at her house, with plans to get a little sleep before the big show. I hope she's doing the same, because she needs to rest up. As for me, well....we all know how I sleep! So wish us all luck, folks, because the time is imminent.

Good night, all!

January 3, 2015
6:41 p.m.

It's a new year, people. A new year.

It seems funny to me after all these years of not being a school-child, but I still have this inner calendar that says the new year starts in September, when the kiddos go back to school. January 1st has never held any significance for me regarding the start of a new year. Never. And since I have reached the age of fifty-plus, I know it never will.

January just seems like a crazy time to be the beginning of anything. It's cold, everything is dead, nothing is growing or being harvested. What's new about that?

At least in September, things are beginning. It's the start of a new school year, it's harvest time, which means starting the process of preparing for winter. It opens the hunting season, also part of preparing for winter. It marks the beginning of holiday season, because we who prepare for winter feel a deep need to share our bounty, and fellowship, with one another. I think we know that we have to band together to survive the increased hours of darkness that winter brings.

And right in the middle of the darkness, we celebrate the beginning of a new year? I'm sure there was some sort of logic in creating this nutty timeline, but--like Daylight Savings Time--it makes no sense to me.

Honestly, my September scenario only makes sense to me because of the back-to-school schedule. School scheduling makes sense to me, because even I, a town girl, could understand that farmers needed all hands on deck during the summer months. My parents grew up doing farm chores. The town I grew up in actually has a school holiday at the beginning of hunting season, because everyone there knows that those kids won't be in school, they will be hunting with their fathers.

If not for my school-day fixation, I would opt for New Year's to be in the Spring. Yeah, I know we already have plenty of holidays in the spring--St. Patrick's Day, Easter, April Fools' Day. But we could fit it in, right? Because it makes more sense to start the year anew as the world is starting anew.

I suppose whoever made up the "Holiday Plan" decided that we needed something to celebrate in January, because it's an otherwise crappy time of year. How about "It's Cold and Dark and Everyone Has the Flu so Lets All Get Drunk Day"?

Oh, yeah. That's New Year's Eve. Oops!
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Okay, clearly I am having some issues today. Happy New Year! Sincerely, I wish everyone a great 2015.
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Since it is already the late evening of January 3rd, I think it's safe to say that the doctor's plan to induce my daughter's labor in the wee hours of January 5th is a done deal. She doesn't have much more time to go into labor on her own. Nor does she show any signs so far of doing so. January 5th will be a great birthday.

I have to say, I am so excited to meet my eighth grandchild, who is to be named for a famous princess and my mother. How cool is that?
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I'll get back to you soon! Good night, all!

December 28, 2014
3:09 p.m.

Christmas is over and New Years is coming up quick. I feel like we're in a holding pattern, even like I'm sort of holding my breath. My daughter is due any day now, with plans to induce labor on January 5th if she doesn't go on her own by then. Personally, I'm rooting for a New Year's baby.

It seems like everyone has been sick during this holiday. My other daughter has only been here to visit once, as she and her two toddlers have been sick. Her teenaged daughter is here with the rest of us, since she got sick first and is over it. We were all at her house Christmas day, so I guess we're lucky we aren't all sick here, too. My grandson dealt with it well before Christmas, and thankfully didn't pass it on.

It's been a Holiday full of Legos. It's pretty cool watching my son-in-law and grandson putting these elaborate buildings and machines together. Hours of fun! I love Legos, except when I step on one in my bare feet.

Anyway, today I'm just checking in before getting down to some homework. Studious, that's me! Hahaha!

Have a great day, everyone!

December 19, 2014
6:16 p.m.

It surely has been a busy week! I've been all over town with these grandchildren. (Not really, just to their schools.) Dance recital, band concert, school musical, Christmas parties. Busy, busy.

I'm having a good time. I just wish I wasn't all slow-pokey with my dumb foot.

Just a few days left to finish Christmas shopping. This year won't be the same as last year. I was so on top of things last year, but this year "Dumb Foot" has interfered with my mobility to the point that I've gotten so little done. It's frustrating.

I wish the rest of my family could be here. I miss those Colorado kids and grandkids. One of these days we may manage to be all in the same place at the same time.

In the meantime, I have been thinking about a lot of things to do with peace and happiness. You must be at peace to be happy--that's a given. I understand that it's difficult to be at peace in a world where unrest is the natural state.

For me, peace is an internal state, that place I go to where life's nit-picky stuff isn't allowed to get in and get me down. I can't always get into that place, unfortunately. I don't know anyone who can constantly live in that state, but I do know a couple who do a pretty good job of living there most of the time. Those people are the ones I most admire, because even though life throws them some pretty nasty curve-balls, they always have a smile for everyone and a friendly word to pass along. While that in itself is admirable, they are also the ones who admit their frailties, admit that they are suffering, but choose to go on and count their blessings as they limp along their way. They choose life, and they choose peace and happiness even as their tears are flowing.

I try to do this myself, and sometimes I even succeed. (No one laughs at me or my foolishness as much as I do.) But I often fall short, and so I must try, try again.

Here is what I strive for, and what I hope to teach through my example:
1. Realized that any person, regardless of race, colour, religion or sexual orientation will bleed red blood if cut, requires the same vital organs to live, must eat, drink, sleep and eliminate waste to stay healthy, and needs to love and be loved to be fulfilled.
2. No one has the right to judge another person simply because their beliefs differ from yours.
3. No one has the right to judge another person because their skin, hair and eye colour differs from yours.
4. Hate is a learned emotion. Parents teach it to their children. Friends teach it to friends. Teachers teach it to students. No one is born hating.
5. Babes and small children are open to loving everyone. They discriminate against no one. No wonder Jesus said, "Suffer the little children to come unto me." They are the most worthy among us. Lets be more like them!

'Tis the Season, everyone. I want to look at the world with the wonder and openness of a small child. I want to have my cry when needed and then get over it and move on, the way a toddler does. We can learn a lot from the little ones.

Until we meet again--goodnight!

December 17, 2014
9:04 p.m.

A "Happy Birthday" shout out to my brother, Rick. Dang, we are getting old--only one sibling under fifty left.

I have been in Oklahoma for six days now, and we have been going non-stop. This is really a great time if year for a visit. These grandchildren don't get to see me much, and certainly not for Christmas. I have attended a Christmas lunch with my grandson, my granddaughter's dance recital and my grandson's Christmas play. Still to come: granddaughter's band concert and grandsons' school Christmas parties.

A sad fact: I have been to Walmart three times in the past five days. That's as many times as I usually go in three months. Probably more than three months, because I certainly don't go every month. I am pretty much an on-line shopper. I am a champion store-avoider. But not this week!

Even sadder is the fact that my "Turbo-Mom status has been revoked for the foreseeable future. I am usually a pretty fast walker, but now I can't keep up with anyone and I have even resorted to using the ride-on carts.  My blankety-blank foot hurts. Bleeping thing.

Regardless, this is a good time. Today my daughter had an ultrasound, and we got a pretty good look at the new baby girl's little face. 3-D technology is amazing.

Well, duty calls. Good-night, all!