Today is the 10th anniversary since my father passed away. Seems like yesterday, seems like a hundred years ago. He was a good man and I loved him very much. He struggled for seven years with lung cancer but finally lost the fight after a brief stint of relatively good health his last couple years.
Two days ago, my husband's father was taken to the emergency room by ambulance. He became very ill, dehydrated and virtually passed out. He remains in the hospital being tested for everything and yet they don't know anything.
Today, my mother-in-law had to go to the doctor because she is severely congested and "coming down with something".
This all happens as we were preparing to go to Oklahoma and celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this weekend. We leave tomorrow, and as it turns out is a blessing that we will be there to help them with this latest, in a long line, of health crisis.
My in-laws have an execeptional ability to withstand and persevere all that is thrown at them and the list is of biblical proportions. To date they have battled: breast cancer, colitis, heart surgery, colostomy, illiostomy, diverticulitis, broken bones, infections, pneumonia, gallbladder removal, hysterectomy, prostate surgery, compartment syndrome (almost lost her leg), pacemaker, pagets disease, severe arthritis, jaw and face reconstruction, bowel obstruction emergency surgery, shingles - not to mention all the regular stuff.
We joke that they have a wing at the hosptial named after them (not really) but they could. They have looked the devil in the eye on many occasions and spit at him. If you ask them how they are doing, they will say "fine". They will be in more agony and sincere pain when the Oklahoma Sooner football team loses a game - or the basketball or baseball teams.
They are tough, midwestern, hardy people. Part Indian, and part everything else. I think the Indian blood, makes the difference. I have seen it in my son and husband. High pain tolerance, never complain when sick.
My hope tomorrow is to get to Oklahoma and go straight to the hospital and cheer up my father-in-law. At 84 it's not the optimum place to be for your 60th wedding anniversary party. We will do what we can while we are there but it won't be enough.
They still live in their own home and between the two of them manage to keep things going. It's much more difficult for them but they don't complain.
True to their Oklahoma mentality they will not give up, they will pick themselves up, dust themselves off and march forward.
Seems to me after living so many years it should be the other way around. You should feel great, be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor and be relaxed and fulfilled. Instead you have a medicine cabinet full of pills, a walker to help you get around, difficulty sleeping, eating and doing everyday chores.
Beside your own condition you worry about your children, grandchildren, family members, neighbors and friends. Should be that we only worry about what fun thing you want to do or see that day.
Many seniors are lonely and fall into the trappings of unscrupulous sales people or scammers who take their money and prey on their weakened conditions. There should be a special place in hell for those people.
As I near the senior life, I realize how important living everyday like it is your last is really good practice.
Next time you think about the elder/senior in your life give them a little extra time and care, they have earned it and really appreciate it cause...
YOUR TURN IS COMING!
I played in two major poker tournaments this weekend in San Diego. The LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) and the California State Ladies Championship. I was sponsored for LIPS tournament by River Card Clothing poker wear and appreciated the opportunity they gave me. This was my first sponsored event, other than my husband, so I was very execited. I hope to earn more sponsored slots with them in the future. They are a young company with a great logo which I believe will do very well. Go see their stuff at http://www.river-card.com/.
I made a good showing in each tournament making the final two tables both days. But both days had something else quite incredibly, agonizingly similar.
On Friday with the finish line in sight (and having played for over six hours) I had been card dead for two hours when I picked up pocket kings. Other than pocket aces this is the best starting hand in Texas Hold'em poker. You wait a lifetime for these hands. I pushed all-in pre-flop and got one caller. She turns over pocket nines and I feel giddy knowing I have a much better hand. The dealer deals the first three cards and I now become an almost certain winner. The fourth card (the turn) she catches one of only two cards that can beat me (a nine) and beats my pocket kings. I was crippled to literally one chip - and so with the one chip I keeping pushing all-in til my luck runs out and I finish 18th. The money was paid to 11. If my pocket kings hold-up it is almost certain I will cash or better yet go on to win. I am dejected but know that I played well and did everything I could to put myself in a position to win. I go home tired and hungry, because I forgot or don't like to eat during play and eat and go to bed.
Saturday, the state championship. I am tired from the day before but got a good nights sleep. Believe it or not playing 8+ hours fatigues your body and mind. I go in determined to win and play my best game. I play consistent and manage to once again get down to the final two tables. Then the moon and stars MISalign and I get pocket kings. This is a crucial make-it or break-it portion of the tournament where chip leaders can go home in two hands and people with small stacks get lucky and become chip leaders. It is tricky negotiating. The table folds around to me and I raise to $4,500 with the big blind being $1,500 (a hefty raise). In the back of my mind I don't know whether I want a call after what happened to me yesterday, or do the right thing and make a bunch of chips with my beautiful hand. One lady pushes all-in and I have no other option than to call her. I have her covered (more chips than her), but not by much. I ask before she turns over her hand if it's aces and she says "no". Before I can relax and enjoy my good fortune she flips over POCKET NINES! That sick feeling came over me when you know that even though you should be happy, but instead know that something awful is about to happen, even though you try to push that to the back of your mind and think POSITIVE, it's too late! The dealer flips over the first three cards (the flop) and there glaring like a freakin beacon of radioactive waste is a NINE!
My throat closes up, my stomach heaves and a sweat bead trickles lightly from my brow and I think back on my colonoscopy a month ago thinking it wasn't as bad as this. Lightening strikes me in my nether regions two days in a row. Are the poker Gods that cruel? They are. I lose the hand and once again am crippled to the point where my only option is to push all-in with any semblance of a good hand. I pick up pocket sixes and get called by Ace, King and lose when a king hits the turn. Where was that damn king when I had my pocket kings!
So once again, I play many grueling hours, to come up just short of the money but realize that it would be a much different ending if my pockets kings had held up. It wasn't meant to be, and any poker player will gladly recount a bad beat story during a critical time in their poker life. It's part of the game and like Phil Helmuth once said "if it weren't for luck, I would win every hand". It's times like these where a lot of us say, I'm done with poker, it's too heartbreaking, but the next day or two when the wounds start to scab over you hear the riffle of the chips, or feel the call of poker room after watching High Stakes Poker and you get in the car and before you know it the trip you thought you were taking to Costco ends up at the poker room.
I hate poker today but I know in a couple days I'll be looking at my scab wondering where that came from and head back out.
Next big tournament for me is in Las Vegas at the Rio for a $75,000 invitational. My buy-in and rooms for three nights is free and first place wins $10,000 cash and a $10,000 seat to the main event next summer in the World Series of Poker. This takes place November 3-5. But just know this, if I get pocket kings -
I AM GOING TO FREAKING FOLD THEM!!!!!!!!
So is the pollen. There has been a great deal of sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, headaches, sinus pressure and overall misery. Along with that there is some sort of viral infection going around which started with my husband, moved to me and then to my mother. My husband and I are still sputtering stuff up but my mother has had a hard time with it. It hits a little harder at her age.
The weather has been a factor in San Diego as last Monday, the 4th of October we had record breaking temperature of over 110 degrees. One week later we are in the midst of another record breaker, this time rain and cool temperatures. The rain is a welcome relief and everyone knows how scary fire season is here so we are happy to have it. The problem is along with the rain came lightening which starts the fires. But we were lucky again, we had three to four days of heavy drizzle and on again off again rain which saturated the area.
All of this mixed with wind and you've got a perfect recipe for allergies. It's an ongoing battle here because we never really experience cold temperatures or snow that kill the allergens. We have year round plants and pollen. It's okay, it's the price we pay for living in "America's Finest City".
If you think this is a chink in our armor then call me when you are having your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals wrapped in your Snuggies and we are on our patio in our shorts. Add that to the fact we never shovel snow, have frozen pipes, barely turn on our furnaces or air conditioners, grill year round and we don't have a mosquito or fly problem.
If we want some "season" appeal we drive one hour up the mountain to Julian, eat some apple pie, throw a snowball and come home and enjoy the warm sunshine.
So even though I am aggravated from time to time because of the allergies, I just take a pill and smile knowing this is probably as bad as it is going to get.
