REFLECTIONS ON THANKSGIVING WEEKEND

By OLIVENE GODFREY

We have had glorious weather for our Thanksgiving weekend here in northwest Georgia. The nights have been cold but the days have been warm with plenty of sunshine. The weather people have advised us to enjoy this weather as frigid weather will move into our area this next weekend. Since we have had more cold weather so far this year, we are wondering if our winter will be colder than usual.

Son Barry and I and a friend enjoyed a delicious restaurant meal on Thanksgiving day. But, Barry said, after we ate, a bit wistfully, that he missed the aroma of good food cooking as it wafted through the house on holidays. So, I promised him that, Lord willing, we will have a traditional holiday meal sometime during Christmas week.

Since I had my cataract surgery on November 16, I have done really well so far, thank God. I only had a few hours of blurred vision following the operation and didn't have any of the scratchy feeling some people have. I see the eye doctor again the last of this week and hope I will have more information about the next step regarding my eyes then. I do need glasses to read and do close work. Since my old glasses don't help, Barry bought me a pair of drugstore glasses that I can use until I get a new pair. They work fairly well and I am not reading a lot yet. I have a growing stack of magazines to read when I get the new reading glasses.

My doctor gives his surgery patients a pretty green plant. And,Barry has arranged the new plant, the year old Poinsettia and a large geranium plant that is producing pink blossoms
into a small indoor garden by the big window in the den. It is a cheerful sight.

In the past, I have had my Christmas shopping done and cards addressed by Thanksgiving. This year, I have done nothing about the holiday but hope I will be able to soon.

See you next time.

CATARACT SURGERY GOES WELL--IT'S PRETTY WORLD NOW!

By OLIVENE GODFREY

Early last Thursday morning, son Barry drove us to Dalton for my cataract surgery on my left eye. I was in the surgery center for about two hours. This included pre-operative time, the actual surgery,and post-operative care. About half way through the surgery, the doctor said, "Everything is looking great and you are doing great." And then it was over and shortly Barry and I left to go home. Barry had taken the day off and when we got home, he prepared a light breakfast for me and then I settled in my recliner and Barry went to his bedroom to take a nap.

We went back to the doctor's office the next day and I had exams and tests and the doctor then told me that my vision at that time was 20/25.I go back to doctor in two weeks for another checkup and I hope to find out then what next is in store for me regarding my eyes. Everything looks so sharp and colors so vibrant. I told Barry that all looked wonderful to me except myself. I had looked in the mirror when I got home, and I thought, when did I start looking so old?

For many years, I cooked an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner, preparing most of the food from scratch, beginning the cooking on the day before and I enjoyed it as my late husband, Ralph, enjoyed the dinners so much and later Barry from an early age, loved to eat the dinners, too. But, the past few years I have been totally exhausted after the dinner. So, reluctantly, I decided not to cook at home this year. We have invited a friend to join us and we are planning to eat in a restaurant. We haven't yet chosen the restaurant.

I hope each of you have a very Happy Thanksgiving day!

See you next time.

IT'S HEEBIE-JEEBIE TIME!

By OLIVENE GODFREY

My doctor describes my Heebie-Jeebies as an anxiety syndrome. The Dictionary of American Slang defines it as, "a feeling of nervousness, fright or worry." And for several days I have had a mild case of them as I count down to the day of my cataract
surgery. I guess everyone feels a little nervous before any kind of surgery. I hope I can be reasonably calm the Big Day and I will let you know how I do the next time I write in this space.

Son Barry didn't have to work this past Friday. The weather was sunny and warm so we went to the Dalton mall and I had a good haircut by my favorite MasterCuts stylist. We had a nice brief chat and then Barry and I ate a delicious lunch at ChickFil-A. We were surprised that the mall was already decorated for the Christmas holidays and Thanksgiving seems to be the forgotten day now. We enjoyed the drive home as the leaves are still pretty over there. At our house, the leaves cover the yard and Barry cleaned out the gutters this past weekend and used the leaf-blower on our patio.

On Saturday. Barry and a friend drove up to Chattanooga for lunch and they stopped at Sears in Dalton and the friend bought a new fridge. And, I wasn't too surprised when Barry called me on his cell phone from Sears and told me had just bought a new flat, wide screen TV as he had been dropping hints that he might do that soon. Barry had a wide screened TV that is less than a year old and he moved it into the den where I watch TV and he put the new one in his den.

Barry has been fascinated by the technology of television as was his late dad, Ralph. Ralph saw a working model of a television in New York when he was in the Army during World War II. We were visiting relatives and they knew someone who owned a TV. They took us over to see the TV and I remembered that black and white TV with the bad picture quality and the "snow" on the screen, Still, we were impressed but Ralph wanted to wait until they were perfected, he said, before buying one. When we finally bought our first TV, we watched it that night with a group of friends in our living room. I thought of those days when I saw Barry's new one, with the sharp picture and many features. Ralph liked TV better than anyone I have ever known and he would have loved the new ones and would really have appreciated the flat ones.

Sometimes we forget how nice people can be. Since I have used a cane and a wheelchair in public, Barry and I have been impressed by people of all ages holding doors open for us.
See you next time.