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About This Author
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Each Day Already is a Challenge
A Texas Sunrise
 
A friend, William Taylor, took this picture. He visits Surfside Beach with his dogs almost every morning, watching the sun rise while the dogs prance about at the water's edge.
This is only about ten miles from where I lived in Lake Jackson, Texas. Sadly, I only visited this beach about four times in the six years I lived nearby.
Each day is a challenge. A challenge to get by without thinking about the fibromyalgia pains. A challenge to stay awake when chronic fatigure wants to take over. And a challenge to navigate through fibro fog.
I haven't been writing as much as in the past. For years, I wrote at least 500 words a day. Now, I'm lucky if I write 500 words in month. Sigh.
For more information about what my day (or life) is all about with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pains, IBS, depression and everything else thrown in, check this out:
September 2, 2007 at 7:46pm September 2, 2007 at 7:46pm
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We have Tiff this weekend - until Monday evening. Yippee!
We started out on Friday night thinking that we should go to Sonic for dinner. I wrote about that before. Hmmm. Perhaps it was my birthday? The only Sonic is about 20 miles from our house. But we also heard they were building one closer - at the mall about...8 miles away.
We drove all the way out to the Sonic and discovered that it was closed for remodeling. Hmmm. That wouldn't make sense if the other one had not yet opened. Since the other was on the way back to our house, and near a whole bunch of other fast food resaturants we might try, we decided to find out where the new Sonic would be.
Guess what!?! It had opened that very day. Yep, we could now go to Sonic only about 8 miles from. We got in the line and waited. We could have chosen drive-thru but we selected having a car hop serve us.
We waited and waited. There was a 40 minute wait. For fast food!?!  Guess that's what we get for trying to eat there on the first day. Grand opening, ya know?
The food was good and we DID get a $5 off coupon for the next time we go. And while we were wating, we DID get to sample some drinks. Peach was the one we sampled. Yum.
We took Jake with us. What an experience. The day before I had taken him to the vet, so we thought a car ride with food as the ultimate goal would be good for him. (Don't want him to think that car rides means going to the vet!)
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On Saturday, we went to play putt-putt golf. Par for the course was 46. I got 55; Jim got 66 and Tiff got 70. Not bad for this 'ol gal who had not played in about 10 years, I guess. Not bad for Tiff who had not played EVER. Wonder what happened to hubby. Must have been his logical approach to it. You know. It's a guy thing. Apply math to hitting a golf ball?
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September 2, 2007 at 9:40am September 2, 2007 at 9:40am
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At that other site...the one where I spend more time now, there was a picture prompt. It was a beautiful picture of a small bridge over sparkling water. Weeping willows surrounded the bridge and reached down to touch the travelers who crossed the bridge. The photographer asked that everyone close their eyes and imagine a paragraph or two to go with the picture.
Here's what came to my mind:
Her father told her that girls didn't need any "book learnin'" so she had to sneak out of the house to read. She strolled along reading and not paying attention to her surroundings. Something brushed her face, and as she looked up she realized she was on the bridge - her bridge - where the weeping willows reached out to touch or embrace. During the day it wasn't too frightening. But at night? Those tree fingers seemed to come to life. Now, though, it was safe. Safe and beautiful. And she stopped to listen to the water gurgling below, the birds singing and the small animals chattering. All was right with the world. Except that she really did like book learnin' and wondered how she could make her father understand.
Hmmm. I wonder if I was thinking about my own father as I wrote those words. Back when I was a teen, he made it perfectly clear that he would not pay for college. Girls just didn't need to go. I had to take out loans or work my way through. That's what I did. You know...I have about 225 college credits strewn amongst 7 colleges in 4 states. I started going to college in 1970 and took my last classes in 1993.  More than enough for a degree, but with no degree. Because of the different colleges, different states, different times. That's why I figure one day I'll get it together and get some college that rewards for life experiences to allow me to gather those credits (Many of which were so long ago now that they don't really count...I never could understand that. Some things never change! Those credits should count.) and put together a life portfolio and see how much credit I can get for the whole lot of it.
I once worked for a woman who received an associate degree for her life experience portfolio - without ever attending one single college course. I helped her type up and organize that portfolio. What an awesome project it was!
Perhaps once my disability comes through and I no longer have the stress of not being able to afford anything, I'll be able to focus on a serious project. Perhaps...
When my next sister - 6 years younger - came along, he had not really changed his mind much. Fortunately for her, she received a full college scholarship. She and my parents only had to come up with $800 a year, I think, the whole time she was in school. Her scholarship was with one of the car companies. They provided her education and employed her every summer. Her only obligation to them was she was finished with college and had interviewed and collected a few job offers, she had to allow that car company to make their own offer. They promised to meet or exceed any offer she had. They did. And she turned them down and went to work for a chemical company. That was in 1980, and she has worked for that same chemical company ever since. Today she is a sr. vice president. For years, my sister only had her bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and was supervising folks (mostly guys, still, of course in that industry) with master's and PhD's. She finally did get a master's degree herself. Not sure of the emphasis. Business, most likely.
By the time my baby sister got to college age (she's 13 years younger) my dad was okay with paying for college. But baby sister chose to get married and start having kids at only 18.
Now she's 42 and about to be a grandma.  She'll be the first grandparent in our family.
And all of this came from a picture prompt...
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I'm praying for you. And I hope your cancer meds continue their success.
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