If we attend continually and promptly to the little that we can do, we shall ere long be surprised to find how little remains that we cannot do.

Samuel Butler
English composer, novelist, & satiric author (1835 - 1902)

 

On 9/11/2001  thousands of people left home in the usual way for an ordinary day, but never returned.  Thousands of family members parted as they always did, not realizing they would never see each other again.   How often do we leave in haste to get to work or to a meeting or attend to some other important business in too much of worry to mend a rift, apologize for a wrong, or just express our love?  9/11 reminds me that we never know.   The daily news confirms it.  Bad things sometimes happen.  We do not know when we leave our loved ones whether we will ever meet again in this life.   Each parting should be in love and good will.  Each return is a cause to rejoice. 

 

September 11, 2008 Andrew had all 4 wisdom teeth removed.  The doctor said the surgery went well.  Andrew was a bit funny afterward.  He was keenly aware of the effects of the anesthesia.  He kept taking an inventory of what part of himself was or was not working. ( He could hear fine. ) He couldn't talk clearly with a numb mouth full of gauze, so he made signs as well as tried to talk.  Everything rather slowly and deliberately with a sense of amusement behind it all.  The nurse thought he might be sleepy, but, instead he was rather talkative for a while. 

 

The fun ended a few hours later, when he tried to take the prescribed pain medication.  It just would not stay down.  He had some moments of great discouragement.  He found that applied ice packs brought enough relief to manage.  Later he took Ibuprofen without problem.  good!

 

Although, Thursday was a bit rough, he did better Friday with ice packs and Ibuprofen.   He even went outside to walk around the yard the way he likes to.  Saturday he felt well enough to go with me looking for sheets to match the boys' room and to attend the Ward 1st Anniversary or Birthday Party.  Even to play with and look after Esther and Jared who were with us because Ruth and Tom were doing a craft booth at the 2nd Saturday Art Walk.  He had to eat very carefully and slowly, but he did ok.  Until the ward dinner, we had been sticking to soup,oatmeal and jello.

 

I am glad the ordeal is pretty much over!  (Now, I would LIKE the insurance company to decide to cover the all the teeth after all and if they want to be really nice, they can decide to cover the general anesthesia.  Oh well, I should get big points on my credit card!)  Andrew was a trooper.

 

sigh, we do it again in 3 years with Benjamin.  deep sigh. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven.

 

Saturday morning I painted the baseboards in the sea room - and over painted the test areas in the closet.  I was pretty excited, thinking that we could start moving the boys later that day, but I was forgetting 1) Benjamin has identified spots on the floor that need a polyeurethane touch-up, and besides, we were not just going to the ward activity for a couple of hours and coming back - I am on the committee, so we had to go early and stay late, AND we were babysitting.  Besides, I notice that I missed a bit around the door that I need to go back and paint.  But, little by sometimes very little we are getting there.