The Rounds of Life and Death , a Ten Things of Thankful Post

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It’s Thankful Day and my tank is full and empty.

Last Saturday, i was very thankful i had some oil in the trunk for Lawrence the Honda, as it needed half a quart before i could go to NOLA.

While down there, I was thankful everything went well, and I was also thankful Grandma let me help her get some water and let Grandpa feed her a few bites of a special shrimp dish Uncle J had cooked for her.

It was a beautiful Sunday, on his walk Mr. Cal got to meet both his old puppy friend Sophie and a new puppy friend named Sophie, he’s always got more spring in his step when he sees a friend on our walk, so i was thankful.

After a beautiful church service, i was thankful Ms. D let me come over, we deep cleaned and polished some of her floors and got some things locked into the barn.

Annie and i were thankful to go back and visit with her before her show instead of after, since it’s dark by the time it’s over now and before seems to work better.

I was thankful to drive back to NOLA Sunday night and be able to stay all day Monday.  Grandma seemed to be in pain and anxious, i was thankful the hospice nurse ordered liquid meds and they helped a lot.

Late Monday afternoon, i was thankful to drive back in time for the 2nd Monday ladies’ meeting.  It’s always a good evening with this group.

Tuesday was a lovely day with Annie and some with Little Ben, it’s always a delight to get to spend time with them and i’m thankful to be able to do it.

I also was thankful to speak on the phone to someone about a financial matter which was taken care of well and quickly.

Thankfully, Ms. G was out of town Wednesday, so after my morning volunteer shift at the shelter i was very thankful to get over there and get everything done even while juggling phone calls from her and from the insurance people.  I think they’ve finally gotten everything straight.

This was also the day the hospice nurse called to tell me Grandpa had a meeting Thursday evening and he was conflicted about going, so i was able to rearrange my Thursday and be sure to get there.  I was very thankful these hospice people have kept us all in the know as much as possible.

Another Wednesday thankful, #1 Son got to go see Grandma early before work and she opened her eyes and recognized him.  Thankful icing on the cake, #2 Son, Daughter-in-Law, Annie and Little Ben went that afternoon and she opened her eyes again and recognized them.

How about a thankful cherry on top, my Little Girl, who just got married last year, has been keeping a big secret.  She had a baby!  A little boy, two weeks ago, we’ll call him Louis and no pictures because she hasn’t given me permission to share.  She and Gary and little Louis showed up and again, Grandma got to see them.  Three grandchildren and three great grands in one day, and she still had just enough awareness to know they were there.

Thursday, my Sweetie and i got Ms. SE’s place done by the hardest and i was thankful to get back to NOLA in time for me and Uncle J to reassure Grandpa and send him on his way to his meeting.

By this time, Grandma was beyond needing meds as she was unconscious and on oxygen, i’m thankful i figured out why the oxygen machine kept turning off (they had it too close to a chair for air to circulate and it was overheating) and thankful i was able to be with her through the evening and check on her multiple times in the night.

On Friday morning we could tell the end was near.  I wanted to stay but had promised #2 Son i would get back to watch Annie while he installed their new water pump as they’d been without running water for a few days.  I was thankful the trip back went well, Annie came with me to run the errands i normally would have run on Friday morning before getting her, and the pump was installed.

While running errands, i was thankful to run into Pastor J, who is now the chaplain for a hospice!  We talked, he got to meet Annie and he had Riley the pet therapy dog with him, and he and i got to spend time praying together.

Friday afternoon around 1:30, Uncle J called to tell me Grandma had just died.  I’m thankful she is out of pain.

I’m thankful i was able to call and eventually talk to all four of the children, letting them know (Bigger Girl had to call me back after work).

I’m thankful i went to do my shift at the cat shelter, as it was very soothing to be around happy cats and kittens (and Sandy, i’ll have to feature her one day, tortitude up the wazoo), and watch two adoptions in progress, then come home to take care of little Ben for a while.

There we have it, a Thankful Day with being thankful for life, for a life well lived, and for the grace to go on.

Please write up your own list and link up to Ten Things of Thankful, where Clark and his co-hosts always have a warm welcome waiting.

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Today is:

Black Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the USA's first published black poet, Jupiter Hammon (some sites say this is on the 3rd Friday each year)

Dessalines Day -- Haiti

Doburoku Matsuri -- Oita Prefecture, Japan (one of the few sake festivals at a shrine; through tomorrow)

Durga Puja -- Hindu (multiple day celebration of the goddess Durga)

Festival of Hengest -- Asatru (approximate date of the Norse celebration of Hengest and Horsa, who fought to establish Norse settlements in Eastern Britain)

Four Prunes Day (only if you dare!)

Gaudy Day a/k/a Wear Something Gaudy Day 

International Archaeology Day 

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty -- UN

Loyalty Day -- Argentina

Mulligan Day -- C. Daniel Rhodes wants you to give yourself or someone else a free do-over today

Nagoya Festival -- Nagoya, Japan (biggest festival in the city; through tomorrow)

National Pasta Day

National Police Day -- Thailand (Wan Tamruat)

Paint a Mural on a Sidewalk Day -- let your inner child go a bit wild, but please use paint that will wash away so you don't get in trouble!

Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word -- Nashville, TN, US (through Sunday)

St. Ignatius of Antioch's Day (Patron of the Church in the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa; against throat diseases)

St. Richard Gwin's Day (Patron of large families, parents of large families, torture victims)

Sweetest Day -- begun by Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy company employee who decided it would be wonderful to distribute candy to the sick, shut-ins and orphans in Cleveland, OH; today is the day to do something for someone that makes him/her say, "Oh, that is so sweet!"

World Toy Camera Day -- now with a Flickr page 

Work on Your Charisma Day -- because what else are you going to do on a lazy October afternoon?

Anniversaries Today:

Radio Corporation of America (RCA) is founded, 1919

Composer Johann S. Bach marries his niece Maria Bach, 1707

Crown Prince Fernando of Aragon marries Princess Isabella of Castile, 1469

Birthdays Today:

Eminem, 1972

Ermie Els, 1969

Norm MacDonald, 1963

Richard Roeper, 1959

Alan Jackson, 1958

Mae Jemison, 1956

Howard Rollins, 1950

Margot Kidder, 1948

George Wendt, 1948

Michael McKean, 1947

Ronn Owens, 1945

Evel Knievel, 1938

Beverly Garland, 1926

Jimmy Breslin, 1930

Tom Poston, 1921

Montgomery Clift, 1920

Rita Hayworth, 1918

Arthur Miller, 1915

Albino Luciani, Pope John Paul I, 1912

Jean Arthur, 1905

Spring Byington, 1893

Buck Ewing, 1859

Jupiter Hammon, 1711

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical"(Musical), 1967

"The Hollywood Squares"(TV), 1966

"On a Clear Day You Can See Forever"(Musical), 1965

Jailhouse Rock(Film), 1957

"Chayka/The Seagull"(Chekhov play), 1896

"Don Sanche"(Liszt opera), 1825

Today in History:

King Cyrus the Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon and releases the Jews from their 70 years of exile and making the first Human Rights Declaration, BC539

Battle of Neville's Cross, the defeat of King David II of Scotland by Edward III of England, 1346

German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellation Ophiuchus, 1604

Boston blacks petition the legislature for equal school facilities, 1787

The political rights of Jews are suspended in the Duchy of Warsaw, 1808

Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie), 1888

Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, and Clifden, Ireland, 1907

Albert Einstein arrives in the US as a refugee from Nazi Germany, 1933

The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield, in Cumbria, England, 1956

Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra, 1964

Botswana and Lesotho join the United Nations, 1966

Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group, 1970

OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria, 1973

Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1979

The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, making it the World's tallest high-rise, 2003

Australia's first Saint, Mary MacKillop, is canonized by Pope Benedict XVI, 2010

Astronomers confirm the identification of the nearest planet outside of our solar system, orbiting Alpha Centauri B, 2012

Astronomers confirm the identification of the nearest planet outside of our solar system, orbiting Alpha Centauri B, 2012

Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch muppeteer Caroll Spinney leaves "Sesame Street" after 50 years, 2018

Canada legalizes the sale of recreational cannabis, the second country after Uruguay, 2018

Shehan Karunatilka becomes the second Sri Lankan author to win the Booker Prize with his novel The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida, 2022

Teen smoking in the US falls to its lowest level in 25 years, 2024