I've taken a few days off from blogging because it's been an eventful week. I finally took Betty in for a much-needed grooming. My friend Ellen visited from Boulder, Colorado. And a routine visit to the CoH (blood draw and consultation) turned into an extra 4.5 hour blood transfusion of hemoglobin and platelets.
Why the transfusion conffusion? I was feeling so energetic on Thursday that I expected to learn that my blood levels were soaring. Instead, I found out that all of my blood counts (white blood cells, red blood cells, hemoglobin, platelets,etc.) were in the toilet.
I promise to write more tomorrow about what I've experienced and what I've learned.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
As Ricky used to say to his wife, "Lucy, you got some 'splaining to do!"
I wondered why you hadn't had a new post. Like everyone else, I've become an addict. I check your blog first thing in the morning and then, if you haven't posted, periodically throughout the day. I was hoping that you hadn't posted simply because you were feeling so good you were doing all sorts of enjoyable things and were too busy to write. Glad that was at least partly true.
I hope they transfused everyhing back into ship-shape. I'm looking forward to your post explaining and describing what happened.
Piper, what's the silliest thing you can remember that revealed Susan's combination of inspiring bravery and inviting playfulness? Is this a characteristic of other Strother family members, too?
Re: "Piper, what's the silliest thing you can remember that revealed Susan's combination of inspiring bravery and inviting playfulness? Is this a characteristic of other Strother family members, too?"
Hmmmmmm.......Karen let me think for a moment. It might be the time we jumped off the very high back porch of our home when we were very young, very brave and in our church clothes. We kept daring each other, back and forth. No fear. Maybe the time when I was camping on the north forty at our cousins farm. Early in the morning, Sue and Charlene woke up Nathan and I. When I looked out the tent opening, Sue was smoking a cigar. That's brave (an funny!), but I didn't tell on her, she talked me into trying it. Any story of Sue's bravery has to include our brother James. She was fitted with "correction shoes" and for some reason she said, "I can do anything in these shoes." That's quote, unquote. She put her "correction shoes" on one day and proceeded to give James the worst thrashing of his life. When she was finished, she straightened her shirt, looked at me and said, "I can do anything in these shoes." Looking back, when we were young, whether it was digging a foxhole, cleaning Grandma's cellar house or weeding the garden, she went after it like she was fighting snakes.....very focused. As you can see by these tales, she had bravery, playfulness, and the ability at a young age to turn, what some might consider, a deficiency (correction shoes) into a strength. She still has the "I can do anything" attitude. Dad calls her the smart one in the family. Other Strothers? I'll give you some background. Being Scottish/Japanese is probably a rare combination. But there's some similarities in each culture, even though they're on opposite sides of the globe. Both have the Clan system, both men wear "skirts" (kilt/kimono). Highlanders and Samurai are noted for there bravery and fighting skills. The 442nd Regimental Combat Team is the most decorated fighting unit in the history of the United States, made up entirely of Japanese. The Scottish regiments are the most decorated of the British army. Each culture has a woodwind as a national instrument, bagpipe and shakuhachi. Bagpipe piobaireachd and shakuhachi music are so similar it's scary. We can trace our lineage back to King William the Lion (1142-1214) of Scotland. Strothers fought and were officers in the Revolutionary war and Civil war. We have had judges, doctors, prominent writers in the family. As you can see, Sue has all the family's good traits: high intelligence, sense of humor, great work ethic, a wonderful fighting spirit, tempered with the social grace and kindness of our Grandmother. And then we have James. But that's another story.
Thank you for that terrific history lesson! Wow! It's clear that great writing and story-telling skills are not confined to Susan, but are yet another Strother family trait! I'd never thought about what a uniquely special combination Scottish/Japanese is. Nor did I know all of the facts you set forth about the cultures. Interesting, and enlightening!
And thanks too for the wonderful family reminiscences! Jumping off a porch in church clothes, smoking a cigar ... I sense a little Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer in your clan. Was Mark Twain part Scottish?
My favorite, though, is the "I can do anything in these shoes" story! Wonderful! Beautifully told, and such an eloquent expression of Susan's character!
Thank you for sharing your reminiscences with us. You Strothers folk are beautiful people!
Love,
Mrs. Duck
Karen, I confess. I've become addicted to your comments as well!
Robert, I love the comparison between the Japanese and Scottish cultures and your description of me as fierce and focused, but I do need to chime in on a few points.
Yes, Daddy did think of me as the "smart" one, but there was a caveat. He used to say, "She's book smart, but she aint got a lick of common sense." Ouch!
I don't remember the cigar incident, but I do remember spending all summer making a corn-cob pipe for Daddy and rolling "joints" from newspaper and corn silk. Appalachian high?
And was I really so violent? I love the story about the shoes, but I don't remember kicking James with them. Maybe I have just conveniently forgotten these memories because they don't fit in with my current image of myself as a pacifist. Cognitive discord?
At any rate, thanks for the great stories, support and love!
Post a Comment