Whew!! What a Year!!

Whew! What a Year!!!

From May 2016 to August 2017 Loy was on a sabbatical to study real-life business communications, with the purpose of revamping the curriculum for this class at Wesleyan.

As near as I can figure, I visited 26 states and Canada and Loy says I travelled 35,000 miles. (He took a few trips without me, so his numbers are much more impressive!!) We visited many dear friends from our past (and present!), attended Paul and Beth's engagement party AND their wedding, saw the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, I took eight social work classes, said "Good Bye" to Loy's father, bought a new beach house, and sold our old house, among many other accomplishments. We used Loy's truck, AMTRAK, airplanes, and boats for our modes of transportation. (Nope, no camels.) We got probably 10 free nights of hotels off of Hotels.com, which sounds really good but, of course, to get those we had to buy 100 nights!! Yikes! We visited:

Dallas, Texas (four times)
Sioux Falls, South Dakota (multiple times)
Portland, Oregon
Scottsdale, Arizona
Springdale, Arkansas
Locust Grove, Oklahoma
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Howell, Michigan
Kearney, Nebraska
Little Gasparilla Island, Florida
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Door County, Wisconsin
York, Nebraska
Elkhorn, Nebraska
Papillion, Nebraska
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Probably other places I forget right now!

Loy also threw in a trip to Maryland and England!

What did I learn? 

1. I can do all this while taking a full-time class load if I'm overly organized. It may mean reading Biology in Phoenix or taking an online quiz in Pittsburgh, but it's possible. Thank you, Technology. Also, I am one of those amazingly annoying non-traditional students who actually do the assignments and discuss and read the textbook and never skip class.

2. After spending 10 straight days totally together with the love of my life, it may be best to keep my mouth shut. One conversation somewhere in Ohio:

Loy: It seems like you're arguing with everything I say.
Me: No, I'm not.
Me: And, by the way, you are too.

Later...

Loy: Blah, blah, blah. (Well, actually, he said something but I can't for the life of me remember what the topic was right now.)
Kitt: (Holdling lips tightly together. Biting them from he inside. All because I realize I want to argue with him right now.)
Loy: You're holding back right now, aren't you???
Kitt: Look at that red truck there...isn't that interesting?
Loy: Go ahead...say it.
Kitt: Heavy traffic, isn't it?

(I'm obviously trying to change the subject, but he's having nothing to do with that option.)

Loy: What is it? (read with exasperation in your voice)
Kitt: Loy, we've been together 24/7 for 10 days. I think it's best I don't say anything right now.

Silence.

3. AMTRAK can be on time. All the way to Oregon we were within minutes of the ETA for every single station. Guess the line going through Lincoln is the one that is always late. That's why we drove to Minneapolis and took a northern route!

3. When traveling overnight on AMTRAK, spring for the deluxe room. It actually has a couch and a chair and, most importantly, YOUR OWN BATHROOM. This is very vital. And, really, does not add too much to the total cost of your ticket.

Also, on AMTRAK (am I getting paid for a promotion???) you are treated like a special guest. And, food in the restaurant is included in the price (The food, BTW, is not half bad. Not a big selection to choose from and they seat you with other travelers, but a good experience.)

4. Do not walk from the Portland train station to the hotel, even if it's just a mile. You will be walking through a homeless village.

5. With good friends you can just pick up and enjoy each other's company even if it's been years and years.

6. Thousand Islands, NY, is very beautiful. But, people really spend lots and lots of money on things that will just deteriorate.

7. The 9/11 Memorial in Pennsylvania is very meaningful.

8. We like NORTH Captiva Island better than Little Gasparilla Island (in Florida).

9. Going to church with friends across the country is really great. God is at work all over.

10. I don't understand Tim Horton restaurants...are they meals or are they donuts???

11. I really enjoy time alone at home.

12. There's no place like home.

Things Loy learned:

1. Recent graduates do not make big presentations (as a rule) in their jobs because no one really cares what they think. They do more short, announcement-type speaking.

2. People overestimate how important/interesting their own powerpoint slides are. Too many words.

3. NWU grads are doing pretty well in the business world. And they are spread out all over the country.

4. When you live on a lake, you don't spend as much time down on the beach as you do when you vacation on a lake.

5. Even on sabbatical, students track you down to ask advising questions.

But, now the year has ended. I'm back to school. Loy's back to school. His report has been submitted. His curriculum and assignments for Business Communications has been updated and improved.

And we didn't kill each other.

So, no more sabbaticals for six years. Wonder what and where he'll study then???

Talk to you soon!

Love,

Kitt.

2-14-17 The Great Day!

The Great Day

Today my father-in-law, Dale, had the greatest day of his life. He was surrounded by people who loved him and, after an interminable time (or so it seemed to those watching), he closed his eyes and began the real adventure. He is now with Jesus. Happy Valentine's Day!!

He was definitely a larger-than-life type of guy. One of eight sharecropping children, he always had an idea for a business to start or a tool to design or a new way to do something. Door-to-door fruit salesman during the Dust Bowl in California comes to mind. 

He was opinionated, pushy, determined, and, probably, overly self-confident. He could hold a grudge.  And, was he ever ornery!! But, he was a hard worker. And when the grand babies came around to his house, he was the one rocking them in the recliner--while both the baby and the grandpa slept (with the TV remote in hand). He took care of widows and women who had unexpectedly become single once again. He taught my kids to drive...sort of...stick shift out in the field. He hosted hot dog roasts out in his field. 

People either loved him or hated him. Not much in between. 

He was a good father-in-law to me. Sometimes I "gave it" back to him just as much as he dished it out. The weekend I first met him he decided to change into his ever-present coveralls right in front of me!! And when Loy and I told him we were getting married, his comment? "You don't have to, do you?" (We didn't.)

Both of my parents died when I was in my '20's. At that time Dolores told me that she told God, "She's ours now." And they treated me that way. I was their daughter. I've known them longer than I knew my own parents. 

From Gelbvieh cows to rock quarries to dial locks to generators to muzzle loading rifles...he was always interested in new products, new businesses, new ideas, new ways to make money. I totally get that constant level of ideas. 

And gardening...that was probably his passion. A HUGE garden, always. In Centerville it had an 8 foot (or so) chain link fence around it to keep deer out. In Sioux Falls it took over almost the entire back yard. And, even in the midst of dementia, he designed an irrigation system that took the sump pump water and put it on the garden, via PVC pipe and joints and toggle switches. 

He could grow just about anything. Beans, watermelons, tomatoes, onions, and okra were the staples. Okra...now there's a vegetable I had no idea existed--in my upper Midwest upbringing. But he grew it and, as was his way, insisted I try it. (Result? I like it fried like Dolores does it--hate it slimy.) The last garden obsession he had before moving to Memory Care was some onions he had pilfered from an experimental farm in Alaska. He just "happened" to walk really close to some that were growing in the greenhouse and some bulbs "happened" to find their way into his pocket! He brought those home and they grew and grew. (What were they testing, anyway? Maybe they were radioactive or something!!!) When he couldn't remember anything else he would still tell the story of the Alaska onions!! Again and again. :)  He was adamant that everyone had to eat the vegetables he grew. It wasn't until recently I found out he refused to eat his own potato skins!! How did he keep that from me all these years??? 

I was listening to my iPod today and this song came up. I have always loved it (it is really about the Second Coming of Jesus) but today it just struck me that this describes what Dale experienced today. Claimed by God, Dale faced something we all will face at some time. No exceptions. 

Dale is now seeing his true love, Jesus, on Valentine's Day. He is praising God! One of Loy's memories is how he would stand next to Dale in church during hymn singing. Dale had a loud, loud, LOUD singing voice and knew all the words. Loy figured his dad was the best singer in the whole church! BUT...when Loy grew older he realized that Dale was an awful singer. Just loud. So, now Dale is having angels teach him how to sing! 

Did the story of Dale's "footprints tell that he was walking well?" I think so. He was generous. He was a hard worker. He loved God. He WAS human, but he knew Jesus and tried to do what was right. 

The man I knew has been gone for several years. Dementia is a hard thing to watch. It strips everything from a person...memory, ability to laugh, mobility, dignity, pride, modesty. But now he is whole and happy and, I believe, he is saying it was worth it all. But it's the end of an era here on earth.

I have pondered why God kept him here for so long--after the real "Dale" was gone. I think maybe it is that it wasn't all about Dale at that point. It was about us. How we loved him. 

"The Great Day"

We met pain in a garden where we lived a lie
We met hope in a manger and a baby’s cry
Rescued by hands bleeding grace
Are we ready to see His face?
On the great day

He will come to claim us with a rushing wind
Blown like fields of wheat, the world will bow and bend
Held between our joy and disbelief
Every trembling heart will finally face the same way
On the great day

One day Love will wear the crown; one day Love will set us free
Hands up high and faces down; angels teaching us to sing
He will be King, He will be King

He who scattered us on every distant shore
He will gather us unto Himself once more
Let the story of our footprints tell
We were walking well, holding high Your name
Until the great day

One day Love will wear the crown; one day Love will set us free
Hands up high and faces down; angels teaching us to sing
He will be King, He will be King

He will be the new sunrise
Steal the darkness from our eyes
When we fail to find the words
Holy, Holy we will cry
He will be the new sunrise
Holy, Holy we will cry


On the great day


So, good bye, Dale. Have a great day! I will miss you. 

Love, your daughter, Kitt.

2-9-17 Shhhhhh!!!! Someone's sleeping.

First off, before someone comments on how much hair I have or how I have changed...this picture is NOT me. I took one of me, but it was so scary that I am not letting anyone other than dear, old Loy see it--and he's threatened with death and torture if he ever shows anyone that picture or if he ever puts it on his iPad!!!

Now, to the blog...

I have sleep issues. I have always been a kind of sleepy girl. I remember fighting falling asleep in classes starting in 7th grade. Such a chore to keep the old eyelids open!!! And I love to nap. Can nap anytime, any place.

In the past few years, it's gotten worse. It's dictating my life--when I schedule appointments, when I schedule working hours, where I can drive by myself. And a strange thing began to happen. I would wake up in the mornings and Loy would be in the guest bed. He said my snoring was so loud he couldn't sleep. (This caused a few cranky moments in me, as you can imagine. Things like, "Well, you snore too and I don't leave!" were heard in the Watley house.) Deep down, I knew it was bad. Have you ever been sleeping and you hear this terrible snoring and think (in your dreams), "Would someone please stop that terrible noise????" and then, you guessed it, you wake up to find out it was you!!!!????

So, in 2014 I went to an ENT who said I had a severely deviated septum. He estimated my nasal passages were 95% blocked. So I underwent surgery to fix this and the snoring. The result? I breathe better now than I ever have in my life, better than I dreamed possible.  I still snore.

Last summer I decided I needed to get this taken care of and went to a sleep doctor who wanted to do a sleep test. (Insurance decreed that, of course, I did not need to have one in the hospital. An at-home test would do just fine.) Well, that test showed I had mild sleep apnea--I stopped breathing about 60 times per night (you get about 30 "free" stopping breathing episodes per night.) So we (like how I say "we"--I mean ME) joined the ranks of the CPAP-ers. I have a high-tech machine with a long tube and little "pillows" (I think that is a dumb thing to call them, but that's what THEY call them.) that plug my nose and blow air up there all night long, thus keeping the airway open. And, I stopped snoring!!! YAY!!!

I went to my follow-up appointment after a month singing the praises of the CPAP. I didn't have to get up to potty as much at night. Loy stayed in bed all night long. He says I don't make a peep.  BUT there is an assessment:  How likely would you be to fall asleep while reading a book? How likely would you be to fall asleep while riding in a car? How likely would you be to fall asleep if you laid down after lunch? Etc. The doctor asked all these questions and my answer was pretty much, "Very likely." To all of them. "Hmmmm. You are still VERY sleepy." He decided that it may just be taking awhile for my body to get used to all this good sleep, so told me to come back in three months.

Three months...same questions...same answers. I am always tired.

He thought he knew what I had, a rare condition called "persistent hypersomnalism." I looked it up. That means you are sleepy. But, we need to rule out other things, which can only be done with an in hospital sleep study. Which happened last night.

I arrived at 8:00 p.m. and Brad hooked me up with about 15 electrodes. They were all over my face, my legs, my chest, my hair. (I sensed Brad was very attracted to me, but I just kept mentioning my HUSBAND. :)  )  I turned out the light around 10:30 and Brad only had to come in one time to reattach a leg electrode which came off. At 6:30 AM the speaker said..."Kitt. Time to wake up." I do not wake up well at 6:30 AM. Brad was kind of annoying at 6:30 AM.

Then I had a nap study, which meant I had to stay awake for 2 hours, then  lay down and take a nap five times during the day. I could read or watch TV or walk the halls (looking Frankenstein-esque) in between the naps, as long as I did not get in the bed. The bad part was that they woke me up after 20 minutes or so. You just get into a good sleep and that darned speaker..."Kitt. Time to wake up."

He said I'm an excellent sleeper and they got really good information. I have no clue what that means.

I'm home now, awaiting results, which should be some time this month. I'll let you know what is decided. Maybe I'm just a lazy person who likes to sleep. I don't know.

I just thought you should know the joys of the sleep study.

Kitt.