2022 Life Logs, Day 222: A Wonderful Day Doing Almost Nothing
Date: Wednesday, August 10, 2022
Weather: Mostly Cloudy and Cooler; High 75, Low 65 degrees
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

When I got home last night, the cottage was so hot and humid that I could barely breathe. I left windows open when I was away, but I did not leave the fans running. Evidently it has been hot and humid here. It was so hot inside that I honestly thought about going to Heather and Jed’s to spend the night, but after a very little bit of rain, things cooled down just a little. I left all the fans blowing full force all night and this morning I woke up almost cold. I don’t love cold, but I have to admit it felt good this morning. Today was cloudy and overcast with a high of 75 degrees F and it looks like it is going to stay in the 70’s and 80’s over the next week. Maybe the extreme heat has passed.

Heather and family are in Boothbay this week. They had planned to sail home, but that is not going to happen. On Sunday, Jonah returned from Scout camp with a nasty summer cold. He has rebounded, but Heather got the cold next and is still not feeling good, and yesterday Ollie came down with it. Jed and Sam spent yesterday working on the boat and it seems the list of repairs that need to be done keeps getting longer, not shorter. I’m hoping they at least get to go out for a couple of days. Tomorrow night at 9:36 pm will be the best time to view this month’s full supermoon and seeing it from their boat at anchor or on a mooring would be beautiful. But if that doesn’t happen, we know there will be more full moons.

I am now my sister’s medical caretaker, and I did spent part of my day dealing with that. Then tonight, I had my first challenge. My sister called her daughter Janet (not the one with cancer) to say she had chest pains. Janet didn’t know how to contact people at my sister’s assisted living facility, so she called me. I called Terra Bella, figured out how to reach a night shift staff member, and within minutes they were in my sister’s room. I talked to my sister briefly before they arrived, and she honestly sounded fine. She said she had chest pains AND indigestion. I explained that the chest pains could be caused by indigestion. The nurse then came in to check her out and called me to me know she thought it was indigestion, certainly not a heart attack. They offered to get my sister to the ER, but she refused and I decided not to override her decision. But I can see how challenging it is going to be to make health decisions for her being so far away.

Most of my day was critter oriented, taking Shadow for walks and going to Heather and Jed’s to feed the kittens Zuzu, the guinea pig. Shadow is still sticking to me like glue, and it was just what I needed to comfort me. My back got worse everyday that I was away, so sitting and petting Shadow suited me just fine. But it was when I took him for a walk that things started to get better. The first quarter mile was excruciating, but the next quarter mile felt better. I headed home at that point and did the rest of my daily mile late this afternoon. That was much easier. Walking and eating my normal diet for just one day seems like what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow morning I go to my chiropractor. I have a feeling he is going to say to keep walking but curb other strenuous activities. I desperately need to weed the garden, but that might have to wait.