Life Lesson

 I wrote this poem many years ago and happened upon it recently. Still pertinent today.

Life Lesson (subtitled “But it wasn’t my fault!”)

 written by Barbara Brooker on  5/21/01

I remember who I wrote this for and about.  I am not going to divulge that info. It is not (a) relative. No pun intended.

You can’t move past till you claim it,

The thing you are placed here to learn.

You are doomed to repeat and repeat it,

Until you own it or burn.

Next faced with one of life’s lessons,

Stand up and say, “This one's mine!”

My crossing the line has happened enough,

To hope that I’ve learned it this time.

There is no one to blame but myself.

No one could tell me you see.

For the lesson was mine and I claim it.

It is the only way to be free.

South Texas weather

 And square dancing. Last night we went to a square dance, not lessons but an actual dance with Carl and Gina and we did well. Not once did we break down a square. FYI: When you break down a square all of you are standing instead of dancing because you lost your place. It was a good time, but we started waning in energy as time passed. This was a Mainstream dance. We plan to take plus lessons next season. It is a wonderful exercise overall at every level.

And now for the weather. 36 degrees at 6:00 am...feels like 27. Now imagine you live in Iowa and it is July with temps in the 70's and 80's and one morning you wake up and it is 36 degrees! Acclamation to weather is real. We have weatherman promises that by next Sunday we will return to South Texas's normal temps in late February!

The Pendulam...

...has swung the other way. Three days ago I went to the ER with a UTI infection. Seniors particularly are easily taken down with UTI sometimes not even knowing they have a problem. I am known for self-diagnosis and treatment but this time, being already down in the dumps, I decided I should talk to the real thing. So yes I do have an infection and with all the other testing they do, I now know that my heart and head are both normal. I'm not sure they tested too well on the head but I want to go along with it and see if thinking normal will make it so!

Today was women's 8-ball pool team play and Renie and I played in Magic Valley Park against the Magic Valley team. We played well winning 4 out of 5 games. And we had a chance to win the last one as well. I always say as long as I play well and to the best of my ability, I am happy with the outcome. I certainly needed a pleasant outcome in something to boost my self-confidence and self-esteem. And today I got that! Both Renie and I did our best!

It is cold here. I am writing this at 1:20 PM and the outdoor temp is 43 degrees! As I understand it there is cold weather in our future with over a week of cold temperatures. At least I can say with some certainty that it will not last and we will get some warm sunny days in the near future. In the meantime, we can stay indoors, with the heat on and play cribbage.

I didn't know that feeling so good would happen so soon and feel so right in a short period of time. I am ever so grateful.

brooker3.blogspot.com

Recovery...

 And what happened. The autopsy revealed there was no virus, I connected to the wrong people thinking it was google I was talking to, and the initial problem was the computer itself. My 5 year-old Chromebook decided to go crazy. As I look back I had warnings. When I clicked on anything it would sometimes take three clicks to react and yes I checked out my mouse and it was not the problem. And one of my last efforts to fix it, a factory reset, created more problems because of updates etc. So I fired up my brand new computer that had been still in the box after arriving two weeks ago. All factors are working normally.

It was an episode I will never forget and long regret. My personal issues are another matter. I have been having small panic attacks. I recognize them when they happen but it is still disconcerting. I have shakey hands, gut spasms, slight dizziness whenever I need to make a quick decision no matter how small. I hope this will go away with time. I can focus enough to play pool and in the company of others, I can relax and enjoy the conversation.

Time will heal...