Friday Foto Friends-Framed Beauty and other thoughts

The morning after Hurricane Elsa flew through our land, dumping buckets and buckets of water on our lovely state and refilling our own Still Waters Pond, this was my view in the frame of the pine trees on our little island...The Great Blue Heron came for a visit...

He stood there regally posing for his portrait, a little demure and shy it would appear from this frame:

And he must still have that little itch that's trying to tell him something, right under his chinny-chin-chin:

Ah, that's more like it! A very striking pose, wouldn't you agree?

Soon he flew down to begin his search for his breakfast in the swollen waters of the pond:

And after stalking about for a few minutes

He up and flew away to try his luck in another pond...but he'll be back!

Meanwhile, I spent the bulk of my day (Thursday) traveling to and from my Dr. appointment at the neurosurgery department at UF Shands Hospital.  I met with the doctor of anesthesiology/pain management to review my MRI and discuss methods of pain management.  A neurosurgeon had already reviewed my results and this was his recommendation at this time...to begin a series of physical therapy and also prescribed epidural steroid injections to reduce the inflammation and help alleviate the pain/spasms.  After much discussion and questions being answered, I agreed to this plan of therapy and hope to get started on it very soon. If these methods do not help to reduce the inflammation, then surgery would be considered as a last resort. They don't like to do cervical spine surgery on a person my age or older unless there is no other option.  That's fine with me. And thankfully, my prayers were answered. I will not be taking any kind of muscle relaxers or pain meds. So all in all I am relieved and very thankful for this plan. God is in control, and I know He is working it all together for my good. Thank you for your prayers!

Now, just for the fun of it, one of our blogging friends, Martha at Seaside Simplicity posted these questions today for us to answer, so here are the questions and my responses. You might want to answer these as well:

1. Morning or Night -Morning. I love to hear the morning birds and see the sunrise.

2. Coffee or Tea - Tea...hot with a spoon full of sugar or honey or iced unsweetened with lemon and plenty of ice

3. Text or Call – Texting is okay for a quick message, but I love to talk to real people and hear their voices. *

4. Small town or Big city – I am a small town girl. Always have been, always will be. That's just who I am.

5. Beer or Wine - neither

6. Messy or Tidy – Tidy, but not to the extreme. I tend to have a bit of clutter about, but I try to keep it "tidy", if that is possible. LOL.

7. Introvert or Extrovert - extrovert who still likes some peace and quiet and solitude now and then

8. Cats or Dogs - love both, but don't have either.

9. English or Math - English. Never liked or was very good at math, but I was a bookkeeper for the majority of my working days. Go figure.

10. Sweet or Savory - Savory, but I won't pass up a piece of homemade pie...

11. Beach or Mountains - Probably more of a lake girl with a mountain view...and beach within a close enough drive to get there at least once or twice a year.

12. Predictability or Excitement – I love excitement and spontaneity, but it's good to have a routine as well. 

13. Time machine or Magic wand – Magic Wand ~ "Presto-Change-o".  Wouldn't that be fun???  Probably not a good idea...

Okay, *Back to number 3.  I wanted to expound on that response for a minute.  Just yesterday one of my dear friends called to find out what was going on with me, and we ended up talking for over an hour. She lives in Ohio and we try to connect at least every few months.  Even though we could do Facebook and stay in touch that way, there is just something about the human voice and real back and forth conversations that is so much nicer.   And then today, another friend called whom I hadn't talked to in several months, and it was so good to hear from her, even though she was calling to tell me that one of our mutual friends' mother had just died after a lengthy illness of dementia.  Again, it was good to be able to share back and forth about our lives and what's been going on...real conversation...there is just no substitute for it.

Our blogging friend Myra at Respice, Prospice, had also posted thoughts about whether or not to call some old friends to catch up with them, and worried that she might be too late.  The title of her post was "Just Do it!", and I totally agree. As a matter of fact, in my comment back to her I told her a personal story about this very thought. Here's what I said:

"I enjoyed this post so much. When my dad was in his early 90's I usually spent Sundays with him to give the caregivers a day off. One of the things he loved to do was call people on the phone and talk to them...old friends (those that were still living were getting fewer and fewer), distant relatives, cousins...anyone he could think of that he wanted to keep up with. He'd have me place the call and we'd put it on speaker so I could help him as he had Parkinson's disease and sometimes it was hard for him to get his words out, but I usually knew what he was trying to say so I would fill in the blanks. Plus some of his friends were hard of hearing, and I'd speak louder for them and then try to decipher what they were saying because sometimes it was hard to understand them too. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon, and I learned so much about my dad and his love for his friends and family. I need to keep up that tradition with my own friends before it is too late. Thank you for this wonderful reminder. Don't wait too long, and if you miss the person you intended, have a talk with whomever is there who knew them and loved them too. It's worth the effort."

When my mother was still living and I was living quite a distance away, we'd call each other every Saturday morning without fail. That was the highlight of our Saturday! I couldn't wait to sit down and visit with my mother and tell her all about what our kids were doing and hearing about what she and daddy were doing, and just enjoying that time of sharing mother/daughter  stories.  Oh, I have missed those conversations so much! So often on a Saturday morning I find myself wishing I could pick up the phone and talk to my mother again.  How many times have I thought to myself, "I wish there were phones in heaven. I sure would love to talk to my mother again."  I've added some others to that list as well, sadly.    

So, yes, like Myra said, "Just do it!"  Make that call! Hear those sweet voices while you can. Texting is nice in a hurry, but it is NO substitute for the human voice. Trust me. I know.

Now...who do you want to call?

Have a blessed and wonderful Friday and weekend. And yes, we thank the Lord for bringing us safely through this week and driving Elsa away from us without harm.  Amen. Good Night!