You Never Know

"you never know".I wish I had a dollar for every time I have said that since my diagnosis in October. It seems as I have become the "you never know" preacher. Encouraging those around me not to put off doing the things that are important to them or seeing the people they love. I know I was guilty of procrastinating and thinking that Chris and I could do those things "later" in our lives when we had "more time". This was recently brought home again when a friend of mine husband had an unexpected heart attack just recently and she realized that "you never know" how much time we will all be given on this earth. She is thinking that they should speed up the timing of their dream vacation to Jerusalem. I say, GO FOR IT!. (just my humble opinion)
Well, I have tried to keep myself busy as usual. I was finally able to have lunch with my friend Jerie. It is so nice to spend time with people and really get to know them. I find peoples experiences so interesting and sharing them with each other so uplifting. Also, me and some other friends were also able to help clean and organize a room in some one's home. This is the best in that it is so wonderful to see the final results. I know she felt relieved to get it done as they will be putting the home on the market soon and her husband is out of town. It was such fun to all work together and makes it so much easier. She has done so much for others it was nice to give back.
Tennis is in full swing and I am loving it! I had a good practice last week that made me feel that I have not lost all my skill. I am playing doubles this year which will be a change since I played singles last year. I have included a picture of myself and some of my team from last year at the state tournament. I play with these same ladies this year. They are a good looking bunch!
I am leaving this week with Chris to see my daughter graduate college. Kelly will stay her with some friends from church so that she does not miss any school. I really wish she could be there but with seven class periods, the make-up work is dreadful. I will have pictures to share I am sure. She is graduating with a degree in health education and a minor in history. It is an odd combination but will make her more marketable since she would like to teach middle or high school. Her and her husband are moving to Williamsburg in July so he can attend law school. We can't wait to have them closer.
I did go to the doctor last week as my tailbone has been hurting and I felt that one of the bones on the end seemed to be protruding more than I thought it should. Anyway, after much debate I went in to see him about it and he said it seemed perfectly normal to him and just to make sure it did not change. Needless to say, I was a little embarrassed but I guess I have never made it a habit to check my tailbone in the past so had nothing to really compare it to. To save face, I told the doctor that I just wanted to make the appointment so he could take a good hard look at my BUM! He is such a great guy and thank goodness he has a sense of humor! We just had a good laugh and I went home with the advice to take it easy on my bum and not sit on anything to hard for a while......Oh well, I had to check it out "you never know"

Count Your Blessings Name Them One By One

I recently went for my first jog since my diagnosis last friday. I had put my Ipod on safety so never thought the battery would have run out. Many of you know that running is TORTURE with music and without it, it can be worse than waterboarding! Well, it was a beautiful spring day and I was not about to go home. As I was jogging and looking at the sun peaking through the green trees and wild flowers blooming, the children hymn "Count Your Blessings" came to my mind and I sang it (in my head of course) the entire time. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for including all of you.
Saturday we went on a 6 mile hike with Kelly and her friend Leah. It was near Lexington so after a great hike we ate at Wendy's just to eliminate any possibility that we might have done something healthy......no, really, there are a few things there that are not to bad.
Easter was wonderful. We had kelly follow clues to find her Easter basket which is a family tradition. She received a Madame Alexander doll called Little Irish Dancer to remind her of her Irish blood and to give to her daughter one day. I did this for her older sister Jordin too. We ate dinner with another family from church which was nice as there was only the three of us.
Monday and tuesday Chris and I painted the dinning room of a wonderful woman from church. She has become a dear friend and she mentioned that she would like to some day paint over the dark paneling in there. I, of course, was all over that as painting is something we can do. It took three coats of primer to cover the dark wood. We painted all the trim white and she picked out the paint color. Now, having lived in MANY different houses over the years, I have one piece of advice for would be painters. Whatever color you like in the store, choose at least one shade lighter to put on your wall as it always appears darker. The color was a pretty green but on the wall, it looked a lot darker than she would have liked. I felt bad for her but the results were much better than the original dark paneling and the good news is that if she ever wants to repaint, the hard part has been done. It was nice to make her home more cheerful and bright!
Today I am mailing some Ebay items I sold and going to the grocery store so it is a banner day in the McDaniel household......anyone need some painting done? Oh yeah, a wonderful friend also called to ask me to lunch but my husband called no less than one minute before and beat her to it so call me again Jerie! Love Ya'll and keep the blessings coming so I can count them ONE BY ONE!