Appointments, Appointments, Appointments

I had my physical last week at my doctor's office and now have a list of appointments to make like:

• Mammogram
• Dexascan
• Upper GI
• X-ray
• Orthopedic doctor for back
• Eye doctor
• Come back to have ears checked
• Hearing aid doctor
• Dermatologist
• Already been to the dentist -- yeah

When you get older, the list of doctor's gets longer! But for the most part all are routine, for which I am thankful. Since I have such good health insurance, I can't complain. I am also thankful to be back working out at our fitness center at work. I was not able to go until after I completed my 3 epidural injections into my back. Now I enjoy reading my book (Jane Austen currently) and listening to my MP3 player while on the treadmill. Taking it slow to start. I have a tendency to overdo. Don't want to have more appointments to make!

Dancing through Life

I went to see the musical, Wicked, for the second time this summer. I loved it so much I bought the CD of the music. There is one song that got me to thinking. It is called Dancing through Life. Some of the lyrics go like this,

"Dancing through life, Skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smooth, life's more painless, for the brainless, Why think too hard?, When it's so soothing, Dancing through life. . . . Dancing through life, Swaying and Sweeping, and always keeping cool, Life is fraughtless, when you're thoughtless, Those who don't try, never look foolish, Dancing through life, mindless and careless. . ."

Glinda (the good witch) and Elphaba (the wicked witch of the west) were friends and that theme is prominent in the musical which is full of contrasts like pretty and ugly, love and hate, pride and humility, etc. I noticed more things the second time I watched it.

I don't know about you, but just hearing those lyrics above makes me reflect on my priorities and actions -- what is important to me. What is a life worth living, what about death, how do you treat your friends and others. Do we judge what is only on the outside. Everyone in Oz longed for something: for a heart, for a brain, for courage, for pretty red shoes, for a way home. The two witches friendship was sorely tested and changed but in the end they sang, "Who can say that I've been changed for the better. Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."

It was a very thought provoking and yet enjoyable musical even though it is only through our triune God and the work of his only son, Jesus Christ, on the cross that we have real meaning to life.

Crawford County Fair

You can see my dad in the back with the green cap on which if your eyes are really good you can see it has a 4H clover on there. This stands for 4-H clubs. Each year my dad goes back to our hometown area to attend the Crawford County Fair and present the Ralph DeVillars award to the best 1st year girl and best 1st year boy in the 4-H clubs. They enter and show a cow into the fair but have to take care of that cow all year long. The girl and boy who won this year are in the front row. The others are also winners in dad's book. You see, he encourages previous winners to not give up being in the 4-H club so for those who continue each year he recognizes them also with a monetary award. This means a lot to my dad since he was in the 1st 4H club back 60 years ago to show a cow and there were only 3 boys back then. He informed my sisters and I that when he is gone, it is our job to continue this award and presentation. The fair was a highlight of our growing up on the farm each year. Ironically, none of us ever entered anything in the fair (cow, any animal, fruits, vegs, homemade clothes, quilts, etc.). My grandmother usually entered her garden produce, including flowers and won many a blue, red, or white ribbon.

My sister and I travelled back with dad this year (we don't always go, been 5 years since we had been there). We visited many relatives including an aunt who will be 99 this month. We always drive by the old farms (ours, grandparents, and great grandparents). We also visited with our youngest sister who lives in our old home town. She is the one in the light blue top.

It is fun to touch base with your roots, but I have definitely become a city girl (or rather suburbanite). My sister in the middle (who lives down here) and I were tip-toeing around the dairy barns at the fair, not only because it had rained and was muddy but for other reasons not so pleasant if you step in it and we had flip flops on! YIKES!!! We had a hard time with the smells also.

It was really fun though to spend this time with dad and see how much he enjoys it and what a huge impact he has on these young folks. He has been doing this for over 10 years and it seems everyone knows him. The parents expressed how much they are thankful for our dad and how he encourages and recognizes the kids. It made us proud!

Dear Diary,

So here we are at Daisy's Diary. How did I come up with the name, you ask. Being a country girl, daisy's were the flowers at my wedding along with ivy. Anyone who knows me, knows I love my ivy, you should see my kitchen. So can you guess my colors? Right, yellow and green. Then many years later, I was given the nickname Daisy by my boss and co-workers which was from a "daisy" sun-dress with little yellow jacket that I wore that day. Well, the nickname stuck and to this day, some of my co-workers still call me daisy including my current boss. I even get calls from those who no longer work with me and say, "Is this daisy?". It has come to be a term of endearment. I even have a daisy tatoo and a daisy license plate on the front of my car. As for diary, I kept a diary for many years as a child which turned into many journals from which I have derived many a story to pass onto my children and now my grandchildren. Computers have definitely made it easier to document my stories, memories, my thoughts and feelings. This should be fun!

Welcome to my blog!

Let me hear from you and I hope to be entertaining and informative.