Phone Calls

I write poems for my kids and grandkids. I have a collection for all the grandkids of poems I have written for them.  One day I will pass each book on to them.  I'm trying to organize my stuff in my dropbox.  While sorting through them I came across this poem I wrote for my oldest grandson.  He used to hide in his closet and call me.  He always whispered because he didn't want his parents to know that he had called.  Hope you enjoy

THE PHONE CALL

He whispers me secrets on the phone

Trying to pretend we are alone.

He’ll hide in his closet or under his bed,

Hoping no one can hear what he has said.

 We’ll tell jokes and sing silly songs

The time never seems all that long.

I’ll say a rhyme; he’ll repeat it back,

Then we’ll get a giggle attack.

 We’ll make plans of fun things to do

We try to think of something new.

He’ll plot tricks against Grampa you see

Hoping to have an accomplice in me.

In a small voice I hear him say,

“How many days till I come to stay?’

He wants the answer to be tomorrow you see.

He’s anxious to come and visit me.

 I tell him who I’ve seen and what I have done,

He says, “Oh that sounds like such fun.”

He tells me of friends and fun at school

And of swimming in the pool

 Soon his mom says it’s time for him to go

That is when I hear him say, “Oh, no!”
“They’re making me go,” I hear him say,

“I’ve talked enough for today.”

 

Then with an exasperated sigh

Quickly he says, “I love you.   Good bye.”

Richard’s call with Grandma is over you see

Until next time he calls to talk to me.

Written for:  Richard
By:  Grandma (Kathie Marrs) January 21, 2001

How's Your Heart?

I don't support a lot of causes but I am very passionate about the ones I do support.  Two main ones are breast cancer and women's heart health.  (Not to say that men's heart health isn't important also).  I schedule a mammogram every year and encourage other women to do so as well. 

February is National Women's Heart Health Month.  Friday, February 7th is National Wear Red for Women's Heart Health Day.  If you are a friend of mine you may have received a text earlier today reminding you of this fact.  If you are a friend of mine on Facebook you have read a couple of posts regarding this.  You will also have noticed that my profile and banner picture have been changed to reflect women's heart health.  My brothers accounts will soon be reflecting this also they just don't know it yet. 

My parents died at a relatively young age.  Mom was 48. Dad was 51.  They both died of heart attacks.  My brothers and I have all outlived them.  We tend to think of ourselves as old due to this.  I want to share a few notes about women's heart health. 

Heart attacks are the #1 killer of women. Every year more women die of heart disease than with breast and lung cancer combined.  A woman is more likely than a man to die within a year of of heart attack.  

Contributing factors to heart disease are cholesterol levels, blood pressure, family history, weight and blood sugar.  Do not make the mistake of thinking that you are not at risk just because your cholesterol and blood pressure are under control.  Also, trust me; if you tell any health care provider of family history regarding heart issues, they take it very seriously.  Also, if you had any problems during pregnancy with preclampsia, gestational diabetes or even high blood pressure it can put you at risk for heart issues later in life. 

Women may not exhibit the classic symptoms of crushing chest pain and pain down the left arm when having a heart attack.  They are more likely to have 'atypical' symptoms.  These may be pain in the jaw, shoulders or upper back.  They may have gastrointestinal upset or even experience extreme fatigue.  And don't just assume that the hot flash you are having is menopausal.  It you experience hot flash when exerting yourself it may be heart related. .  Bottom line -- you know your body.  If something doesn't seem right -- contact your doctor!  Better safe than sorry. 


Please join me and wear red next Friday, February 7th to support women's heart health.  And wear it often throughout the month as a reminder. 
 

Just Venting

Okay - I'm going to vent about a pet peeve I have.  So get ready -- you may or may not agree with me - but, oh well.

I dislike it when anyone uses the terms dear, honey, baby, sweetie, love, etc. when speaking to me (or anyone else).  Are you my parent, grandparent, husband, aunt, uncle?  Are you even related to me in any form?  Have I ever met you? Who gave you the right to call me this?  To my way of thinking the only person who truly has the right to call me any of the aforementioned names would be my husband.

I find it demeaning when men use any of these terms to servers in restaurants or cashiers at checkout lanes.  But it's not just men who use it.  Women do to and it is just as wrong for them as it is for men.

Stop and think about it.  If your husband has had coffee at the coffee shop he probably called the server honey (or dear or sweetheart) three to four times just in the hour or so he sits and drinks his coffee.  She brings his cup of coffee or gives him a refill and he says something like "Thanks, sweetheart".  That evening, when you bring him a cup of coffee as he is watching TV he may say those same words, "Thanks, Sweetheart."   Who is his real sweetheart?  Does he not hold you dearer to his heart than the server in the restaurant? 

How many times has someone called you on the phone and as they hang up they say, 'thank you dear.'  Happens to me frequently.  Unless we are extremely close friends or family it is out of line for you to address me that way.  And if you just called for assistance on the phone, I am more than happy to help you out.  We have never, ever met - you do not have the right to call me sweetie.  I don't care if you are a man or a woman.  My parents are deceased, my grandparents are deceased, they might be the only one other than my husband to call me sweetie.  

And I do not mind telling people that I am not their dear, nor their honey.  I have a name.  My name is Kathie.  It was given to me by my parents and they obviously wanted me to be called that.  I have not gone to court and changed my first name so please use it. 

Monday Funday

I had the day off work today.  Lily came over to spend the night last night.  She doesn't get to stay over very often on a weeknight as I usually have to work the next day.  So when she found out I had today she took advantage of it.  We decided to have  Monday Funday.

Last night after she came over we did some coloring in her color book.  We both like to color.  Then we watched TV for a while before bedtime.  This morning she came and crawled into bed with me and spent some time telling me about her dreams.  She has extremely long dreams.   We spent a little time on Facebook and having breakfast.  After getting dressed we started our day.

First off we had to make a delivery to Grampa.  He wanted his computer at work.  So we packed up his computer and headed to Grampa's store.  Lily went in saying, "Delivery, delivery for Grampa Marrs.".  She then asked about payment for the delivery.  Grampa complied to this request with a chicken leg.  Just what Lily wanted.

After leaving Grampa's, we went to Target to get a couple of things.  We then stopped off at Merritt's Bakery here in town.  We wanted to have a tea party today and decided to get something special for our tea party.  Thanks for the great idea Grampa.  We made our selections then headed to Turtle Pond.  We hadn't been there for a while.  It was a great day to be outside.  However, the swans, ducks and geese were just laying on the side of the hill soaking up the sunshine.  The turtles didn't even make an appearance.  They were to busy hibernating still.  We did enjoy the swings and even sent a little text to Aunt Charlie telling her how much we missed her.  Aunt Charlie responded back to have fun but watch out for the wall (that was where she hurt her knee when she was here in November).

OK, back home we go.  While I prepared the food for the tea party Lily got the table set up.  We got out one of the tablecloths and some of our napkins.  Lily got out tea cups and plates and even set the high chair up for her American Girl doll Missy.  (I heard stories today about how Missy got in trouble.  She had a big of a 'smart mouth' according to Lily and had to go into the closet for a time out).   I prepared a couple of sandwiches cut up in little triangles with the crusts off, some cheese slices and our special treats -- one cranberry scone, one blueberry scone and a small individual Black Forest Cake.

We enjoyed our tea party. Then while I cleaned up the dishes Lily and Missy prepared for a gymnastic show.  Missy regaled me with all her moves, head stands, splits, twirls, jumps, flips, all kinds of things.  Missy then had a little question and answer period after the show but she was extremely scary and yelled at the audience.  I can see now why she got in trouble for her smart mouth.

After these we played dolls. I am the babysitter in this game while Lily goes off to work.  I'm not real sure what her 'job' is but today it involved me having to fill out a questionnaire.  Her boss had to know my name, birth date and phone number.  This was to be certain that Lily had adequate child care while she was at work.

All to soon our Monday Funday was over.  Hope you have enjoyed sharing it with us. 

Emergency Room Observations

For those of you who don't already know, I spent the majority of my day Friday in the Emergency Room with Gary.  If you have never spent any time in an ER, yeah for you.  Consider yourself fortunate.  It is indeed a unique experience.  I have become very familiar with ERs between Gary and Chris over the past 18 years or so.  Before anyone becomes gravely concerned, Gary is fine.  He has an infection and is in some pain but so far it is manageable and he will be following up with his doctor this next week.  But now let me share our experience with you. 

It started when I get a call from his cell phone while I am at work on Friday.  I cannot take the call and was getting ready to send a text when I see his cell phone trying to call my work phone.  I know something must be up and am getting ready to put my phone on not ready to call and see what is going on when again my cell phone rings.  It is one of Garys' managers telling me that Gary has passed out and I need to come get him.  Knowing Gary's heart history and that he has at times passed out when he is having an episode I immediately head out.   It takes about 20 minutes to get from my work to his.  When I arrive I discover that it is not his heart but instead he thinks he is either having a kidney stone or maybe another hernia.  Five hernia operations makes him kind of an expert on hernia pain so he is thinking probably kidney stone. 

I take him to Urgent Care just across the street from his store.  The Urgent Care doctor, who must have been 80 at least and walked extremely slow and whose hand was shaking so bad he kept it in his pocket, also thought it was a kidney stone and sent us on to the ER.

We arrive at the ER about 2:45 or so.  And now the looonnnnggg wait starts.  I observe people as I am a people watcher.  We see the first group of people who were there when we arrived come and go and people who came in after us be called back and then a second wave of people come in over the course of the next 4-5 hours. In the first group of people was a lady without any fashion sense.  She was wearing maroon colored shoes, lime green and gray socks, black pants and a pink top.  Her nail polish was a combination of orange/pink.  Not really either of those colors but perhaps a mixture.  She is talking on her phone to someone about her kid brother who is 15 and has apparently gotten beat up by some other kid who is 18.  She is calling and sending someone to her house to check on him.  This lady and her husband really seemed to enjoy the Ellen show. 

We are called back to triage and then chose a different area to sit.  Here we encounter some young guy who obviously isn't feeling very well as he is sitting with his head on his knees.  More on him later.  Some big loud guy comes in.  He is wearing pajama bottoms, carrying a back pack and a fishing pole.  The fishing pole he carefully places in the corner next to him. He starts talking loudly to anyone who will listen that he needs some kind of pain meds.  The ones he got earlier aren't doing the job.  He then leaves to go get a cup of coffee.  After he comes back another guy comes in.  This gentleman appears to have already sought medical attention someplace else as he has some sort of shoulder stabilizer on.  

These two gentlemen appear to be friends and start comparing symptoms about what has brought them to the ER.  Shoulder guy had some sort of bicycle accident that knocked him out and shattered his collar bone (his words).  Both of them are there for better pain meds as what they have already been given aren't working.  Fishing pole guy is called back to triage.  Shoulder guy starts moaning every time he shifts or even moves his mouth.  Fishing Pole guy comes back and tells Shoulder guy that they have some pretty good coffee in the machine if he wants some.  Shoulder guy continues to moan in between talking to his friend.  Oh, did I mention that their talking is not really quiet talk?  And Fishing Pole guy has some extreme body odor.  This is noticed every move he makes.

Fishing Pole guy is called back.  He enquires if he needs to take his stuff.  He is told yes.   He leaves and I can't help but think how optimistic he is.  He obviously believes he is going to get some good drugs and be able to go fishing after he leaves the ER.  Now Shoulder guy has no one to talk to so has to resort to just moaning.  The moaning becomes more frequent and annoying.  He is obviously a big baby and now he is making the natives restless.  The poor young kid with his head on his knees is now active and complaining.   

By now most everyone but Gary has been called back and the second wave of people are coming in.  I go to enquire on how much longer they expect it to be as we have now been waiting in ER about 4 hours.  I am told that everyone who has been called back is in worse shape that is why they have triage.  Really??   I understand chest pain and trouble breathing being worse.  I do not understand wanting more meds to go fishing as being worse.

We finally get called back to a room.  Things go a little bit faster here.  Pain meds are administered, blood drawn, doctor comes in, ultra sound done, ct scan done.  It seems there is a kidney stone in the kidney but it is not causing the problem.  It is probably the beginning of an infection.  Gary is given anti-biotics and pain meds and advised to follow up with his own doctor next week.  Fortunately, his own doctor happened to be in the ER checking on someone and was actually conferring with the ER doctor who was treating Gary.
 
We arrive home about 9:30 that evening about spending 9 hours in Urgent Care and Emergency Room.   Gary is resting.  He has some discomfort but overall doing fine.  He will calling and getting an appointment with his doctor this week.

It was quite apparent from our ER visit that the lost are just that 'lost'.  They cannot help the way they are, they do not know any better.  I pray that our demeanor and behavior showed some of Christ's love that we have. 

Purpose for Every Day

Wow!  What a busy start to the week.  Classes started yesterday and our phones are ringing off the wall.  So, if you have tried texting me and I have been slow to answer - sorry.  I do the best I can.  If you have noticed, I haven't been on Facebook as much as usual - it's because I am actually working at work. 

Yep, start of semester is always busy.  Seems like no one can remember their passwords to anything.  And they are not always happy when you tell them that it may take 24 hours for that password reset to take effect.  Sorry - that's just the way the system works.

Yes, nothing changes from semester to semester.  Students are still upset because they can't remember their ID numbers or their passwords or even the answers to their security questions.  Parents, or sometimes spouses, or upset because we are required to speak directly to the student not a proxy in order to offer assistance with the ID number or password.  I can't help but wonder how the parents expect these students to ever be able to get out on their own when they can't even log in and set up their own security questions.  You know there will be issues when upon hearing that you have to speak to the student and verify his answers the parent says, 'He's not going to know them.  I set up the questions.  Ask me, I can answer them.'   Well, that's not going to help the student very much right now.  Nor will it help that same student when they, hopefully, eventually are on their own. 

And the students who do set up their own questions.  They must be used to their mother helping them because they certainly don't make any attempt to try and remember anything.  Perfect example is the student who called three times in one day wanting her ID number.  Every time she had to go through the security questions to get it.  Seriously?   Why didn't you write it down?  You are going to need this number.

This pretty much sums up probably 80% of the 275 or so students I talked to over the last two days.

Then you have the students who are the opposite.  They either admit that they weren't wise enough to write down the number last time they called and apologize for having to call again.  Or the ones who are very sincere in trying to understand the different log ins and passwords.  Or the ones who are thrilled! when you are able to explain to them what they want to know. 

And every day there is at least one call when I realize that God has put me there for a reason.  There is the one student who, while trying to get logged in tells you, her entire life story.  Everything you never wanted to hear.  And when she finally is able to access her email, or TED, or Blackboard she very fervently thanks you.  She has shared her troubles, perhaps a sick child, perhaps the death of a parent, or a severe automobile accident that required two surgeries and months of physical therapy before she could even think of attending college.  And when you ask if there is anything else you can assist with  she says, no you end the conversation and say 'I'll be praying for you.' you receive a big thanks. 

Start of the Week

Here it is Sunday evening winding down.  Where does the weekend go?  Never have been able to figure out how it goes by so fast, but here I sit wondering "what did I do this weekend?"

So, what did I do this weekend?  Well, I am still putting my house back together from Christmas.  See, I totally un-decorate my house to decorate for Christmas.  That means that afterwards, I have to put my stuff back.  Now add to this the fact that Gary spent his Christmas money on some shelving for the kitchen.  This means that I have redone my kitchen cabinets also.  That in itself is a pretty big job.  So now we are totally relearning where things are again in the kitchen.  So I worked on putting my house back together.  It is almost done. 

Saturday I got much needed haircut.  I say much-needed because I had not been to the hair place since right after my hand surgery.  I usually go about every 6 weeks.  Reason being, my hair is naturally curly and my hair is very, very thick.  So the longer my hair gets, the wider my hair gets.  It has a mind of it's own.  I am unable to control it.  Not an issue any longer.  Just wash it, put some gel in my hand and run it through my hair - good to go!  Wash and wear

Did a little bit of shopping then home to work on laundry, etc.  Remington and Lily came over to spend the night.  Before we could have fun at home though we went shopping with Grampa for groceries.  No, I did not do grocery shopping while I was out doing my errands earlier.  This is something Gary likes to do so 99.9% of the time I wait for Gary.  While shopping Lily comments on my hair cut.  She wanted to know why I cut my hair.  She was of the opinion I should let it grow.  I explained the reason I wore my hair short.  Remington decides it would be cool if I let my hair grow then I could be "Afro Grandma".  

Back at home we started a small fire (small because it was 50 degrees outside - way to warm for a fire) so that the kids could roast some marshmallows.  Remington had his new pocket knife with him and was able to whittle some sticks for us to use.  So we enjoyed marshmallows while almost sweating it was so hot!

Today we had church then home for the afternoon.  I was reading my Bible plan from You Version on the computer.  When I finished I went to see what Gary and the kids were doing.  They were all laying on the bed cuddled up watching TV.  I decided to join them.  Grampa got a pretty good nap in I think. I went out to check out Facebook.  Lily finally came out and asked if I would play with her.  I told her the game I wanted to play was 'warm up Grandma's hands'.  This wasn't a game she wanted to play as it meant putting my cold hands on her bare back.  I thought it sounded like a lot of fun but she didn't. LOL  We ended up getting the dominoes out and making things with them.  Michael came and picked them up just before our Life Group meeting. 

We had Life Group, everyone left and now here I sit wondering 'where did my weekend go?'  My favorite part of the weekend?  Gotta say, it was probably when we got in the car after buying groceries and the music playing on the radio is Roaring Like a Lion.  (I don't know if that is the actual name of the song or not).  I love to hear those two sing along with their 'favorite song'. "My God's not dead, He's surely alive, And He's living on the inside, Roaring like a lion.  My God's not dead, He's surely alive, And He's living on the inside, Roaring like a lion"  What a great thought to 'start' my week with. 

New Year - Same Stupidity

Yes, it's a new year, new semester starting, new students enrolling.  However, some things never change. 

Some of our students are returning students.  And Winter Break did not improve their working knowledge of our system at the college. Some of our students are new students.  Their knowledge ranks right up there with those aforementioned returning students.  And the parents - well they always have their own idiosyncrasies. 

I will say that our first couple of days back after break we were very busy.  This was to be expected.  And believe it or not, the calls were all pretty basic calls.  Nothing that we would term "you're not gonna believe this one".  This week however, it seems we are back to our regular calls - some of them pretty crazy. 

To the student who was unable to answer her security questions and wanted to know why this had to be so difficult.  They are called security questions for a reason - your security.  I'm sorry that you find it difficult to remember the answer to questions that you yourself put in place but it is for your security.  Not being able to answer those questions may make it 'real inconvenient' for you as you now have to go to a campus to get your password reset.  My advise?  After you go to campus and get that password reset, log in and enter answers that you will remember. 

To another student who cannot answer your security questions; I'm sorry.  I do not "obviously know that you go to college there".  If it was so obvious that you were who you say you are, then why can't you answer those security questions that you put in place?  I do not personally know you and have actually never heard of your name until today so there is no way that I 'obviously know' you go to college here.

To the student wanting to register for classes.  I am glad that you want to continue your education and I wish you much success.  However, asking me if I can go in and register you does not show me that you are sincere in your desire to further your education.  My advice, learn to do things on your own.  You might not like the classes I assign you to -- basic basket weaving and advanced calculus. 

To the student who calls before the official start date of the semester and wants to know the last date you can withdraw from a class:  Wow!!!  The class hasn't even started and already you want to drop?  Why even bother taking the first few weeks of the class?  Drop it before semester starts.

To all students who have chosen the question "What is your oldest siblings middle name".  Sibling would be your brother or sister.  This is not your child, this is not your parent and it is not you!  If you are an only child then you do not have a sibling.  If you are the oldest child in the family your oldest sibling would then be the one born after you.  A middle name comes between the first and last name.  I am not able to see your answers so if you do not know how to spell your siblings name; perhaps you should choose another question. 

Yes, semester starts next week and already the students have shown how brilliant they are.