The Unthinkable

I sat in the hospital room watching my mother sleep.  She was very restless, I was so relieved that pain had subsided enough to let her sleep.  She opened her eyes and saw me there.   “Why didn’t you wake me? I don’t want to miss the time I have with you.

I told her she had seemed peaceful and I wanted her to rest.  She smiled but I could still see the pain she was experiencing. Then she said, “Jan, I won’t  be going home.” I hesitated..not wanting to go where she was going.... I tried to be funny.  

  “Oh really have you bought a condo somehwhere?”  She smiled and then said, 
  “No I won’t be leaving the hospital this time.”  Tears started to roll down my face.

  “Mom, I can’t imagine life without you, you have always been here.”  Still she just looked at me.  

“You will go on, as I went on when I lost my mother, and as she did when she lost hers. It is a changing of the guard, it is life going on.  Your relationship with Erin will grow stronger, then you will depend on each other and make each other stronger.”  

And sometimes....that doesn’t happen.  You go your separate ways........

Chimneys

When we first married I had never given a bird a second look.  Jim, on the other hand noticed every bird that (flew) across his path.  I began noticing them too.  I realized there was a whole jungle flying before my eyes that I had been missing.

I had the same feeling a while back when I noticed some chimneys on new houses close by.  One house had 8 chimneys--and then I began noticing others.  There were so many unsual ones, and the more I looked........ so camera in hand I went on a chimney safari.....here is what I found!

 

These are on a house I call the English Manor House.  It has been under construction for aleast year now, maybe longer.  It looks like it will need signs throughout the house that say, “You are Here” with an arrow showing your location.

 

  
  

 

 

 

As I photographed, people asked me what I was taking pictures of, when I told them, they began to tell me where I could find more unique chimneys!!

I discovered many unique inspiarations were on the very old and sometimes tiny houses.  

 

This is one of the very old houses in town, recently remodeled with this chimney added to compliment the older ones already on the house.

 

  

 
I am STILL noticing chimneys!!

NSL BUSTED

A couple of weeks ago after NSL was in the locker room alone, two iphones ended up missing.  Then the next day while we were swimming in our classes, NSL walked up to the bags hanging on the wall and started rummaging through them.  She took an inhaler out of a bag, and walked off before the lady the bag belonged to, could get out of the pool.  Since Pam and I initially complained about her, 15 more complaints had been lodged.  And NSL continued to swim at the Y.  

On Wednesday when we were arrived there she was, in her see through camisole swimming away.  When she strutted across the entire room to the locker room one of the (female) staff followed her.  They told her the swimsuit was in appropriate and finally found out her name. Case closed drama ended.....

Until today.  When I arrived at the pool, she was swimming laps in a regular suit like all the rest of us finally!! But as I got in the pool one of the lifeguards started to call to her.  NSL looked around briefly but started to swim away.  Then I heard the lifeguard, Julie (a middle aged woman, who is the mother of 3 teenagers) say, “I have a swimsuit under these clothes..... so you can get out or I will come in and get you!”

By now we were all in our fitness class with instructions being called out by the instructor. Usually we are talking among ourselves but this morning everyone was extremely quiet.  We must have looked like a synchronized swim team of senior ladies with our heads strangely craned to the edge of the pool.  The exchange continued, with NSL slowly getting out of the pool.  By now she was screaming at the lifeguard and shaking a finger at her.

When NSL returned to poolside she was fully dressed and started screaming about how the Y was discriminating against her, a minority business woman, making her buy a membership and pay monthly acitivity fees.  Then she grabbed the young woman lifeguard who might be 20 and started shaking her finger at her.  The life guard looked straight ahead, never making eye contact and never uttering a word.

NSL swam at the Y for three years without paying the annual dues or the monthly activity fees.  The Activities Director annouced that wthe Y is looking in to getting scanner cards to open the doors.  NSL IS however NOW paid up on her dues.