ON MY MIND

By Olivene Godfrey

Today is Memorial day in the U.S. and unofficially the first day of summer.The sun is shining brightly and the temp is in the 90s.The weather people say there is no relief in sight. I am not planning to leave my air-conditioned house until the temps go down. The turbulent weather we've had past month has been bizarre which is trying to tell us something,I think.

Son Barry and I plan to grill steaks for supper.Other than that we aren't doing much this holiday.

I am still feeling droopy, partly due to the anemia that has come back. I haven't had a booster shot in about three months. I return to blood doctor in about a week and hope my blood tests will qualify me for a shot.I told you that according to Medicare's new guidelines, I haven't been qualified for a shot.

This hot weather and sunshine has caused the patio plants to grow like crazy and look so pretty with Barry's tender, loving care of them. I enjoy looking at the plants from the den windows.

Barry has so much to do here after working hard at his job and I regret that I'm not able to the light housekeeping to help him now. His recent physical check-up showed that he is very healthy. Fortunately, he always has been healthy. We give a lot of credit to the soy formula he started his life with when he was born in St Petersburg, Florida. At first the doctor couldn't find a formula that agreed with him and we nearly lost him as he nearly starved to death. After he started taking the soy he soon became a happy,healthy baby and has been healthy since then.

See you next time.

Untitled....

By Olivene Godfrey

Just a note to let you know that I've been missing talking to you in this space and hope you have missed me. I hope to be back on a regular basis soon.

I suppose everyone thinks of Helen Keller as a phenomenon.
being born deaf and blind did not prevent her from learning to read and write and speak. She learned to think with philosophical depth of understanding that reaches the hearts of all of us.

I have found strength and courage in these words written by Helen Keller--"Often when the heart is torn with sorrow, spiritually we wander like a traveler lost in a deep woods. We grow frightened, lose all sense of direction, batter ourselves against trees and rocks in our attempt to find a path. All the while there is a path--the path of Faith-- that leads straight out of the dense tangle of our difficulties into the open road we are seeking. (Excerpt from "The Bereaved")

See you next time.

Feeling lousy from cold and cough.

By Olivene Godfrey

Last Thursday I felt a cold coming on and tried to get doctor appointment on Friday morning to no avail. I did see doctor Monday morning. I have a nasty cold and lingering cough. I am taking an antibiotic and a large pill to break up mucous in my nose. This is the first cold I've had in years and I had forgotten how bad it makes me feel.And being an elderly woman may cause symptoms to be worse.

Please remember me in your prayers. I will write in this space again as soon as I feel better.

See you next time.

Comments on deadly tornado in north Georgia and Barry's sugar free diet.

By Olivene Godfrey

Last Wednesday night and early Thursday the most powerful tornado to strike north Georgia in years left a path of destruction and death in Catoosa County which is located near our county.
And I have special memories of the small town of Ringgold which was in ruins after a deadly tornado rolled over the area. When I was a young teenager,I lived for a couple of years with my family in a tiny town only a few miles from Ringgold which is located near Interstate-75. IN those days, Ringgold had a drugstore and my friends and I went there for fountain Cokes from the soda fountain.

Years later, my father-in-law, a Methodist preacher, pastored the Methodist church at Ringgold and he and his wife lived there for several years. Also, Ringgold isn't very far from our home. And, I was a bundle of nerves Wednesday as Chattanooga TV stations followed the storms and issued warnings. At one point, a tornado warning for our county,the TV weather people advised us to seek shelter. As we don't have a basement in our house, I fled to son Barry's bathroom which has no windows or outside door. The wind was blowing hard but not as much as it has in the past. Still, I was frightened and near hysterics until the warning was lifted.

Son Barry remembers when I had "nerves of steel" I told him that night how nervous I had been. He reminded me of the night when we lived in Chatsworth and a tornado struck the downtown section. My late husband and Barry and I huddled in a small hallway. We lived only a couple of blocks from the downtown main street. We heard the roaring noise which sounded like a train, then a moment of silence in the dark as the power went off. And, then the twister hit. When the storm had passed, I spent the rest of the night and early the next morning covering the tornado for several newspapers and The Associated Press.

I don't remember being so scared back then.When we lived in Florida we survived two hurricanes and even then I didn't fall apart. I am grateful we survived this latest storm with no damage. As I watched the TV coverage of the damage and loss of life in Ringgold, I pray for the people who lost loved ones and their homes and everything they owned.

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Barry recently had a medical check up and everything was fine except his lab work which showed he needed to cut back on the sugar foods he has eaten for years. The doctor told Barry it isn't a problem yet but since I have diabetes type 2, it would be wise to have a sugar free diet. Since he isn't buying lots of delicious sugary desserts when he buys our groceries, except for a few sugar-free sweets, I may lose some weight, too, as I won't be sampling them and will be able to stay on my diet better.

See you next time.