Summer in Mississippi

This year has had its share of challenges but God knew they would come and He knew I would endure them.  After an entire lifetime of being for the most part fit and healthy, and might I add very grateful for it, I have “plantar fasciitis” .  What’s that?  It is where the tendons on the bottom of the feet are shredded and the heel throbs in excruciating pain most of the time.  This happens for a variety of reasons but for me, it’s being on my feet most of my life, wearing flip flops, walking on cement floors barefoot and the real kicker was taking high impact aerobics.  I’ve been to the foot doctor but there’s not much he can do.  I have to be patient and stretch often.  So I’ve been limping around in extreme pain and have bought almost the entire line of Crocs rubber shoes (by the way they have very lovely styles, see www.crocs.com).  For those special challenging days,  I have a heat foot massager under my desk at work (very soothing). 

On top of my foot condition, while landscaping out front and pulling weeds, somehow I got poison ivy all over my legs, arms and stomach.  I’ve never had it before in my life!  It is the itchiest thing I’ve ever had!  I believe I’ve tried every over the counter (and under the counter) product for itching, but hands down I’d say “Ivy Rest is the best”.  Three weeks later my swollen, scratched and bleeding skin is returning to a normal look and people no longer look at me and say “Oh my God”.  As I’m writing this, I have some sort of allergy and my head is aching.  For those of you who know I love to be on the go, these maladies have been difficult.  God is teaching me extreme patience, a kind of suffering in silence, fortitude, tenacity and hope for my healthy old self to return. 

Keeping in mind the above ailments, I’ve continued to attend events and stay involved in life.  In May, Mike and I drove up to Missouri to see our nephew, Mitch Miller, graduate from high school and see Mike’s family.  While there, we visited the Arch in St. Louis and checked out some wineries, small towns, and historical sites on the way back.  In May, we headed to Rainbow City, Alabama for Mike Parry’s wedding.  May is also when Arin came out to visit us and we went to all sorts of local places:  the Museum, the Zoo, the Mississippi River and even hiking a Petrified Forest which is 10 minutes from our house.  In June, we went blueberry picking at a farm in Florence, MS.  My freezer is full of 5 gallons of blueberries of which I’ve made blueberry pancakes and cobblers so far.  Tamara has been making blueberry jam.  We bought more fishing poles and chairs and now sit along our lake and fish often.  Tamara and Chad gave Mike an electric fish filet for Father’s Day, we have yet to use.  Guess we need better bait to catch all those bass swimming around. 

Birthdays are always a time of being blessed by the family coming over but also fun presents.  My birthday always falls around Mother’s Day so I often get a double whammy of gifts & cards.  This year, the kids got me a digital photo frame which is set up at work and cycles through more than 200 photos—really cool..  When I’m stressed at work, I just glance at the photos and a relaxed feeling and warm smile crosses my face.  Mike got me a GPS unit for my birthday present which was really handy to take on all our trips to strange places.  An English woman, we’ve affectionately named Elizabeth, talks to us.  We often tell Elizabeth we don’t want to go that way.  You can download other voices, which I’m going to have to check out.   I’m not sure if hubby got the GPS unit for him or me, but in any case, there’s no excuse for getting lost anymore. 

Our three labs are getting big, Millie (white), Willie (cinnamon) and Cocomo (black) and they truly have a great life out here in the country.  They run around the unfenced property all day playing (they are not sure where our property ends), chase horses that come by (why do they do that?), take dips in the lake (watch out if they are wet and run up to you), and sleep quite a bit (they love the cold concrete floor inside during the summer).  

As summer continues… may you find time to enjoy your pets, family, kids, grandkids, friends, attend important events, get out of the house and do fun things, pick some blueberries, stay healthy but most of don’t forget to talk to your Creator, read your Bible,  thank Him often for what he’s done in your life, pray always and love others each and every day.