Dear Reader:
While I am typing this blog…I can honestly say that I am tired…a weary down-to-the bone kind of tired… which doesn’t happen often to me any more. But to be honest…it feels really good…what my Grandpa Charlie called a “Good kind of tired.”
We all know the difference. Grandpa Charlie was a cotton farmer so we were usually waiting on him to “get everything put to bed” before he came in and ate supper. The big meal was at lunch so by supper time Grandmother and Grandpa Charlie were happy to just have some buttermilk and break up left-over cornbread into it.
If we grandchildren were visiting…Grandmother would save a few pieces of meat or vegetables from lunch and we would finish it up. But Grandmother really did love her buttermilk and cornbread…it was the last meal she ate before she died.
Grandmother Wilson would tell us that she asked ‘Charlie’ every evening how the day went and he always responded the same way…“It was a good kind of tired day Mary Ellen.”
Grandmother Wilson would then remind us to make sure we had a lot of “good kind of tired days” in our lives.
When society was more agrarian than industrial…I think people did have more “good kind of tired days”- (working in the soil tilling and planting)…After industry arrived with assembly lines and long hours of work for men, women, and children…the days became just “tired days”…with little good in them…except for the small pittance paid each week.
Today with so much of the work force divided between industry and technology…the long tired days still exist with quotas, deadlines, and mental stress paramount… in the lack of “good” tired days after work.
There is something about physical work that is more satisfying overall than just mental work performed alone in a cubicle isolated from the rest of nature and even humanity.
Sunday I lugged two bags of clothes, pocketbooks, shoes, etc. to Goodwill but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I was back yesterday with the whole back seat of the car filled with bags to the brim.
It literally took me the whole day to go through drawers, clean out clothes and (mostly) costume jewelry, the bottoms of closets, Christmas decorations that have needed to depart but I kept sticking them back up in the bottom and top of the closets after Christmas each year. Gone!
My back aches from hauling heavy bags outside to the car and then back and forth until I somehow squeezed them all in. But I feel such a sense of accomplishment and freedom! Letting go of unnecessary stuff is so liberating!
We all have experienced the difference in “good and bad” tired. Good tired results in a sense of accomplishment or an act of love for someone or some ideal we care about….”Bad tired” is the wearing down kind of tired that leaves us stranded in the land of frustration and futility. Happiness and a sense of contribution to the world in daily life is very important…whether it is only personal or public.
Right now I feel good…light and airy good. It will still take one more day in the bedroom to go through the book shelf cabinet, make decisions of which books to keep, which to give away and then clean out the memorabilia in the bottom cabinet. *That is always the hardest part. But by this time tomorrow evening…my bedroom will be de-cluttered and simplified down to the basics!
*I have zip lock bags in different sizes and I am going to start dividing all the family photos that never made it into a scrapbook into different baggies with the “children’s” names on them. So at least some day they know what memoirs belong to whom and then they can decide what mementos to keep.
Day by day, room by room…my summer goal is to minimize and organize…which as I have discovered is much easier without so much “STUFF!” My long-term goal: By summer’s end my house will only have the “stuff” I designate as necessary for my life style to make me happy. And these days…lack of “stuff’ makes me happy!
So until tomorrow:
“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh
*** Just had a request from Kaitlyn concerning one of her high school friend’s husband who is bravely battling brain cancer. He has surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) and he needs all the prayers we can give him. From his dad’s last Facebook Post…you can get a glimpse of this amazing young man (Nathan Sexton)….husband, father, son, and friend to so many. He really needs our prayers and blog readers…you are the best!
Please take a moment today or Wednesday, pause in what you are doing and pray for a miracle surgery for Nathan because that is what needs and I am a big believer in miracles!
Last week, we went to Nashville to meet with Dr. Reid Thompson, who performed Nathan’s initial craniotomy. He is the head of the neurosurgery dept. at Vanderbilt and has been a wise and kind guide through this difficult ordeal. I emailed him on a Sunday; he wrote me back in 30 minutes and we were in his office 3 days later. Dr. Thompson explained things a bit more clearly, at least for me. He pointed out an enhanced (i.e. glowing) area on the MRI that is evidence of the cancer’s regrowth. It never completely went away but has been somewhat dormant for many months. It was this enhanced area that is generating this fluid. It not only is cancer, which is bad enough, it is also manufacturing fluid that cannot be controlled with steroids or through a needle to drain it. Nathan took it like a champ, like he has handled everything so far. He was calm and deliberate. He wanted to do the surgery as soon as possible. So, it was immediately scheduled and his craniotomy will take place this Wednesday morning at Vanderbilt.
Dr. Thompson will attempt to remove as much of the recurrent tumor as possible and also remove the fluid. This is a more difficult surgery than Nathan’s first one. Nathan has had radiation treatments to his brain which, according to Dr. Thompson, makes things “stickier.” There is a greater chance of a stroke and the area of the brain where the surgery will take place is a crucial spot. It is ground zero for speech and the ability to communicate. Motor skills are not far away either.
Of course, we would greatly appreciate your prayers for a successful surgery and a full, quick recovery for Nathan.
When he is able to come home, Lord willing, we will bring him back to Knoxville to stay with us, which will be a big help to his wife Elizabeth who is not only the weary caregiver for Nathan, but also for their 3 year old son Jack (who has no shortage of energy!).
Thank You!
ichaseferalcats
John Turner
Legally Ohm
Becky Dingle
Good morning Becky,
Praying for Nathan, for Dr. Thompson’s hands to be guided by the Lord, for Elizabeth, and their son Jack. Our God is an awesome God who performs miracles all the time. Prayer will continue.
Sis
Of that I have no doubt…God is with each member of the family…comforting and holding hands.
Prayers for Nathan. …and a good tired day is the best. …grew up that way…
Thank you Gin-g. “Good tired” is the best day! You are so right! You sleep so wonderfully.
Oh my…there are so many in need of pray it makes one wonder…What is going on? Our God is always in control ,but need is everywhere we turn.
I’m all for the de-clutter. Have great day and praying for all. Keep us posted.
Thank you Boo for the prayer request.