A Trip to Wawa

I'm back and sorry that I have not posted this week after the surgery. With the big guy laid up on the second floor, it was my job to run errands, feed him, and keep up with the enormous amount of trash that accumulated from his granola bar and rice krispie treats wrappers. Oh yeah....breakfast is always a fresh bagel, egg, and cheese. Lunch consists of a chicken cutlet hoagie, and dinner is whatever I have the energy to make. Oh yeah, let's not forget....I have to work, too. Tink has been wonderful and is spoiling him. Me? Not so much...after two days, I was ready to move him to the first floor, which he balked at for some reason.

I sort of get it. He has to be in a CPM machine for 6 hours a days while lying in bed. Therefore, he cannot move, weight bear on his right leg, and is stuck in a hip brace that looks like a torture device. His next appointment with the surgeon is on Friday when he gets further orders as to his rehab. Until then....he does not walk, drive, or hobble to the first floor. I have been able to get him out of the house a few times, otherwise, he sits in bed or watches ESPN in my bedroom. He also has an odd reaction to his pain medications and literally becomes loopy.

His loopiness means that I want him on the second floor until the medication wears off since there is no way that I can catch him safely if he falls on the stairs. And so...we wait....talk about rehab...plan for more baseball in Seattle....watch football on ESPN, and feed him.....I have to go to the food store at least once a day since he is immobile. He claims that the first thing that he will do when he can drive is to drive to the Wawa (our convenience store) and buy a barbecue chicken hoagie. That's all this guy wants for now....a trip to Wawa....

As far as other news is concerned, we had planned a big surprise party for Dr. G's birthday. The secret was safe...until....yeah...until......a colleague of his texted him on Friday afternoon (mind you, this colleague is a doctor) and told him that he was sorry that he could not make his party that night. Dude! Didn't you read the invitation that specifically said "SURPRISE PARTY"!

Oh yeah, as I drove him, Lil A and Tink to the party, it was Tink's job to text Scooby to tell her that we were two minutes away and get the gang ready to shout 'surprise'.

Imagine my surprise when he walked into the room and no one noticed nor shouted 'surprise!' Apparently Scoob did not receive the text so......no real surprise....just a party....which was still a great deal of fun.

Now that that is over, I have to concentrate on work. Like the rest of the world, I have to perform certain tasks to be paid.....although, there are days when I am at work that it does not seem like work. In other words, it is more of a lifestyle.



I do tell dad that I would LOVE to retire to try my hand at something else. However, I am not sure what I would do. But there has to be more out there where I can do something, be paid (or not), and feel fulfilled....Who knows. Until I find that elusive job, I will continue to teach, grade, and share our adventures on the road to the majors....oh yeah....and drive to the food store for more bagels, hoagies, and rice krispie treats.

Peace!

Chicken Cutlet Hoagie and Its Healing Effects

Good morning! As most regular readers know, I have not written because we have been in a holding pattern waiting for surgery. This does not mean that baseball has not been at the top of the list of discussions that we have had, but it has been a nice break to not have to talk about fast balls, speed, and body ailments. Actually, it has been quite nice....



But it is now back to work.....


Tomorrow at 6 am, the big kid is scheduled to enter the surgi center for his hip surgery. He has forgiven dad and me for his congenitally weak hips and labrum and focuses on rehab. Michael Jordan gave his blessing to the choice of surgeons, which is good since the Mets surgeon is currently quite busy taking care of the team that is in the World Series this week. After all, we do not want a preoccupied surgeon, do we...especially after last night's game......
 
Having the first surgery of the day is generally a gift. Since he is not allowed to eat or drink after 9pm, this helps him sleep, pull himself out of bed at 5 am, be prepped for surgery, and finish the procedure before lunch.

We now have a post operative tradition in our family. After surgery and on the way home, we stop at the sandwich shop and pick up a large chicken cutlet hoagie for the breaking the fast feast. Is this how my friends in the Jewish faith break their fasts? With a chicken cutlet hoagie? Not sure, but will have to ask.

And so, the kid will be on crutches for 6 weeks and basically immobile until he gets the word that he can train with Yoda. Once Yoda works his magic, he heads back to Seattle.....

Speaking of Seattle, it seems that the Czar called and bought their program. One of the big lefty's friends has been working behind Psycho's back and sending him tape of his technique. The big kid critiques it, tells him how to alter his delivery, and bingo! The friend is now throwing a high of 96. When the Czar asked about his progress, the pitcher responded that he was doing the Seattle program. He also figured if the coaches balked, he would walk and sign on with any other Division 1 team without a second thought.

Flash forward to the Czar possessing the training techniques as his entire pitching squad sits at 82 - 83 mph. After he read the program, he stated, "it's a bunch of bull." Then he closed the manual and refused to speak of weighted balls and fundamentals to the pitchers. In fact, he is going back to the ineffective system that he has used for the past 15 years. That, my friends is called 'worst practice models' rather than 'best practice models'. In fact, the Czar in all of his humility contends that his was is the best way...hence his losing record for the past two years.....

Yep, it will be interesting to watch the next few months. Only time will tell who is right and who is wrong.

Peace!

Getting ready

Good evening! I'\m back and ask forgiveness for not posting. The reality is that we are in a holding pattern until the surgery on November 2. Until then, there is no good, juicy baseball news....except....

The guys from Seattle contacted the Big kid. It seems that the Czar and Psycho contacted them for more information about their program. if you are a regular reader, you know that to do these exercises and programs are taboo. The guys could be cut from the team....Yet......

Over the summer, one of the frosh, now sophomores contacted the big lefty to ask for advice. He sent films to him and wanted to work out using his techniques. Being a softie, the big guy gave it to him. Then he analyzed the sophs films and sent him advice. During fall ball, this kid hit 95 consistently.

When asked by the coaches what he had done over the summer, he told him that he followed this program. Figuring that he would be cut, the coaches contacted Seattle for more information. Remember, my son was not allowed to mention other protocols for fear of reprisals. Times have changed a bit, eh?

Anyway, the lefty is in a good place. He is ready for surgery and has a job at a baseball and fitness center when he recovers until he heads back out west. All things plus the stars and moon have aligned as he is ready to go.

Hopefully, I will be able to post more before the surgery. Unfortunately, work has been crazy. With the online format, I have doubled my work. In other words, my face is always looking at a screen....except today, when I took the afternoon off to take the pups to the vet. They are healthy and a good weight. They got their shots and after their appointment, Tink and I took them to Petsmart for bones and toys. Yes, I know, they are dogs, but they received two shots in the rear ends....so they got a cute toy for their troubles.

Ok, I have to go online to read my students' posts and grade some quizzes.....

OR.....

I could go to bed and watch television.....

Later!

Primordial scream

Greetings! Yes, it has been a while since I posted, but I have lots of excuses beginning and ending with that crazy four letter word...W-O-R-K.

Yep, I have lots of excuses...let's start at the beginning......

Last Thursday, I was told at 2 pm that my class that begins on Tuesday night would be completely offered online.


That's right. I was prepared for weeks to step into the classroom and begin and end as I do every time I teach this course....with my Fitbit on trying to hit 10,000 steps by the end of the four hour class. Administration made the last minute decision to teach it in the virtual world.

How does this work? Well, anything that I would have done in the classroom must suddenly be uploaded online, which means my lectures and explanations of concepts, assignments, and the virtual world.

This decision created a panic and an emergency as I worked for 5 days to create and upload videos for the class. Here is where my patience was tested over and over and over and over and over again.....

As I recorded the class, I hit the red 'record' button. Once finished with 15 to 20 minute sessions, I would hit 'save'. Looking to upload it onto the virtual classroom site, I would search all my files for the recorded sessions. Not finding the recordings, I would record again and again and again and again......I finally got in touch with IT. My little friend helped me and suggested I needed an 'add-in'.

OK, where do I get an add-in? Well, BPM.....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.......

And so, I finally downloaded the add-in.....all is well, right?

Not in my world.....

Six more recording sessions later, I was throwing things...cussin'.....ready to jump out of my second floor window. It was not pretty.

I walked away and the next day, I started again.

Picture this....the recording would have my video in the corner with my presentation on most of the screen. During the last recording, there was no video, so I assumed the student would hear my voice and not see my face. I was cool with that.
So, as the recording continued, I took off the scarf I had around my neck which hid my tee shirt that I got for the tennis sectionals and drank a glass of wine to keep my nerves from getting the best of me.

Afterwards, I re wound the video and listened....something wonderful and horrifying happened....

The recording finally took and was saved on my hard drive...this was amazing! After 5 days, I finally have 1 recording....

Now the horror.....the video did turn out as I scratched my nose, removed my scarf to reveal the tee shirt, messy hair since I had not brushed it, dirty glasses, and the wine glass in my hand. Yikes!


I had a fast decision to make....do I re-record the orientation or leave it as is?

I left it and the rest is history. My online students now see the real me...tee shirt wearing....messy hair lovin'...wine drinking instructor who was at the end of her rope.

I was able to show the video at an orientation on Thursday night. The students laughed and all is well. However, my angst and lack of IT savvy is going to be an ongoing challenge where I will be doing a primordial scream on a weekly basis as I try to teach this class.


On to the big lefty...yes, life is a challenge having him at home with his mess and lack of responsibility when  it comes to putting away his clothes, shoes, dishes, and gear. Oh well, I love him more than I hate the mess.

However, we finally have a diagnosis and plan of action.

As you may recall, he had a MRI and was referred to a well known surgeon in the region....not a Michael Jordan, but someone who was pretty good like Scotty Pippin.


Anyway, he is diagnosed with a hip impingement and labral tear needing surgery. He will be on crutches for 6 weeks and not able to throw for three-four months. He has to have the surgery to have any quality of life. It seems that he has a genetic defect.....I told him that my side of the family has great hips....fully aligned and ready to run or stand in line for hours waiting to see the Pope. We must blame this defect on his father. Done!

The surgery is scheduled for early November and this will offer a logistics challenge as he will have to go to PT and have doctors' appointments and not be able to drive. I guess converting my classes to online will offer me flexibility to put my chauffeur's hat on like the old days when I drove him to preschool, baseball, basketball, parties, school, football,......singing off key to any Mowtown song on the radio....

Hey, he will be dancing before we know it....

More later....thanks for hanging in there with me....

Peace!

Sunday...a fun day?

Good morning! Yep, it is day two of life without the Pope and I miss the little guy. He shared so many thoughts on how to build a better society and be a better person. As I complete this post, I will share the paragraph that was most inspirational to me.

 

On to Sunday.....I had to arise early to get on the train again but the body was not willing. I guess standing for a long period of time on Saturday took a bit of a toll on the legs. But if a 78 year old man could do it, so can I.....

Unfortunately, the 78 year old man has more stamina, and I was late for the train. With that, Tink and I arrived around 11 am for the 4 pm mass on the Parkway. I had received an email from my volunteer captain to head for the Parkway to count pilgrims. Yep, a person who cannot count passed 11 without a calculator was going to count people at mass with one of the clickers.


First, we had to get through security.... and here is where my story begins and ends......

Running and limping from the train since we were late, we made it to one of the lines to get through security. Although I could not see the TSA officials (yep, TSA), I figured the wait would be like an airport line at rush hour. I could not have been more wrong....as a bus load of pilgrims cut into our line.

Then we waited....and did not move.....

I put on my distance glasses to try to locate the security check point. Even with the glasses, I was blocks away. So, we continued to wait.....and wait.....

We moved a few inches.....don't they know that I am supposed to count people? Oh, by the way, I have a ticket!

Fifteen minutes later, we moved another 6 inches....It seemed that we moved 6 inches every 15 minutes for 2 and 1/2 hours......

One block later, we are still in line with two blocks to go...crawling....legs are cramping....then the restaurant owners got smart. No one was in their establishments because we were stuck in line. So, the restaurants came to us. I was not hungry when I got into line but after three hours, the stomach began to whisper to me saying "your Kaski bar is not going to cut it.....look at that gorgeous hoagie with fresh mozzarella and tomato....roasted red pepper pesto...it is calling to us...."

Then I did it. I ordered the sandwich from line and had it delivered. Tink and I crawled a few more inches now equipped with our lunch and dinner......

After four hours, I started to jump in place because the legs were screaming.....the gel foam pads were useless....the feet were on fire....I am not complaining, just reporting facts.



Then I see it.....there are 4 airport security scanners for 200,000 of my closest friends. Four....that's right...four.....no wonder it took all day. Sheesh!

I could now see what the hold up was. The security folks were going through every bag and bag chair then allowing people to walk through the metal detectors. I watched in aghast as the two women (that's right, 2) pulled each bag chair out of its sleeve to examine it. Then they went through each cooler. I was afraid for my mozzarella and roasted red pepper pesto hoagie. Was she going to squish it looking for a weapon of mass destruction. Fear crept into my mind as I began to worry more about the fate of my hoagie than my feet.



Side bar: this is what happens when the blood pools in a person's legs and is no longer perfusing the brain. The individual starts to hallucinate about flattened hoagies and bag chair bombs.....

Then we finally got through. I did set off the security alarm with some underwire that I was wearing and had to be scanned with a wand. I saw a nun being scanned too, so I did not feel so violated.

Anyway, we made it through and I was going to wait for Betty and Scoob who were a half block behind us but I had tickets and was going to save them a space.

I ran to the corner and showed my ticket. The officer would not let me cross the street despite my ticket since the mass was beginning. And so, I stood under the flag of Sweden waiting to hear mass since I could not see it and had no idea where I was. I waited for Betty and Scoob but they never came. In fact, the police closed the security check points as they were about to pass through. They never got in!



The mass sounded nice. Although most of it was in Spanish. The jumbo trons had the mass on it with subtitles. I could not see those. So, I stood by a barrier listening to Spanish and not understanding a thing....despite having taken dos anos in escuela de espanol.....

After mass, I continued to look for Betty and Scoob who had disappeared, so I headed back to the train. Sad....I did not see mass...understand it.....or catch a glimpse of the Pope. In the week that I had spent in the city, I saw his right arm wave from his Fiat. That's it.

Was I sad? YES!



Was I peeved? YES!

But Pope Francis speaks of love and patience and kindness with compassion. Gotcha....I am being tested....thanks....

As we ran to the train, we waited as the cars began to fill.....luckily, we got a seat and as I sat, I went on the internet to read the Pope's homily. Yes, it was inspiring. Now, I should count my lucky stars that I was near the event.

Wearing our orange volunteer shirts did nothing for us during the day as we waiting in line with the rest of the hopefuls. Then I was tapped on the shoulder. A lady said to me: "Thank you for your service."

Huh? What did I do?

"Thank you for volunteering."



How nice.

You're welcome. Did you see the Pope?

"Oh yes. We had great seats (grrrr........)."

What time did you get there.

"We were in line at 7 am and got through the screening right away. Although they took my apples and water."

Huh? My apples and water and hoagie made it through the screening process and were declared safe. Perhaps they got tired of throwing produce out by the time they got to me.

"Yes, and I told them that I was diabetic."

Feeling concerned, I asked her if she had enough to eat.

"Oh we were fine."

With that, I gave her my non threatening Red Delicious apples for her hotel room. Enjoy, they have been screened and cleared as a weapon. They pose no threat to you and your husband.

Then she said something that I had noticed and loved about the week...."I was so thrilled with the city. Can you believe in the time that I spent here, I never heard one curse word."

She was right. People were on their best behavior. Or, perhaps, this is the type of crowd that is attracted to the Pope. Anyway you look at it, it was a terrific week. People came together for a common purpose, to live their faith and to listen to the head of the church.

The way, I look at it is, the world was more peaceful and kind for one week. I liked it. I really liked it....

Then it was back to work Monday.....the day was long and I wanted to come home and sit and have a glass of wine to unwind and rejuvenate. This required a quick trip to the liquor store. As I stood in line, a common theme for the week, I spoke to the clerk and asked him if he saw the Pope.



Here is his reply:

"Yes, I did. First, I watched half of the Eagles game which started at one (what?). Then I left the house and got in line."

How long did it take you to get through?

"Forty five minutes."

WHAT!????? Where were you?

"Twelfth and Wood".

Crud! This was five blocks from our crammed security check point. Did you have a ticket?

"Oh yes. I was very close."

I wanted to shout, but held my angst back and considered a few things.

First, I was blessed to have had the experience.

Second, I learned new things like how to read a train schedule and pay for a train ticket.

Third, people are basically kind and good. It was a privilege to have served in such a way. Some day, if the Pope comes back, which he won't, I will have no qualms about doing it again.

Now, it is time for me to figure out what I am going to teach today......let's see......blank.....I am drawing a blank...

Coffee time!



PS: Here is the paragraph that I plan to share with my family: "Faith opens a “window” to the presence and working of the Spirit. It shows us that, like happiness, holiness is always tied to little gestures. “Whoever gives you a cup of water in my name — a small gesture — will not go unrewarded”, says Jesus (cf. Mk 9:41). These little gestures are those we learn at home, in the family; they get lost amid all the other things we do, yet they do make each day different. They are the quiet things done by mothers and grandmothers, by fathers and grandfathers, by children, by brothers. They are little signs of tenderness, affection and compassion. Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day’s work. Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life grows in faith."

Peace!