THE LOWE FAMILY NEWSLETTER: VOLUME 60 OCTOBER 2010
Hello Everyone,
Your dad was a real pain in the butt last month. It all came about because of his eye sight. He complained of blurry vision so I made an appointment with his ophthalmologist. He concluded that your dad had a cloudy membrane behind a lens that was implanted after his cataract surgery. The same problem was diagnosed last year in his other eye so we were familiar with the procedure to correct the problem: a laser surgery that usually takes about ten minutes. We were scheduled for the following week at 10:00 am. I was anticipating being home for lunch but we sat in the waiting room for over two hours before they finally called him in! The chairs were not very comfortable and soon your Dad was on his feet, wandering around the waiting room picking up leaflets and pamphlets to stuff in his shirt pockets. Next he decided to stand and wave his arms around like airplane wings –exercising as he calls it –I hoped all the other patients were very short sighted. I offered to run out to the car and bring in his wheelchair, thinking it would be more comfortable and hopefully put an end to his antics but he refused my offer. Instead he sat himself down in front of a televised patient infomercial while I buried my head in my book and hoped that no-one realized we were together. Three hours later we were headed home and in the next few days your dad was showing more hip action in a chair than Elvis ever had on stage. He could not get comfortable on his bony backside because all that sitting had aggravated his hemorrhoids.
We made two trips to the drugstore, one to load up on preparation H, stool softeners and zinc oxide ointment (Marc’s recommendation) and the other to buy two different donut cushions. Unfortunately if he found a position that afforded him butt relief it would cost him prostate pain so in desperation I pushed him onto the reclining sofa, yanked the foot rest out and placed a pillow under his head and told him to pretend he was watching TV in the hospital when he complained that it was hard to watch laying down! At least the pressure was on his back rather than his butt! The only positive outcome of this ordeal was that your dad was taking sitz baths in the tub on a daily basis. Normally your dad takes a green approach to bathing –seeing it as a waste of water.
Mary Brockman took the train down last week so we got together for dinner one night – she and Elizabeth arrived with Pizza and the kids.Mia slept through dinner but Drew kept us very entertained. Unlike Mia he loves to eat so he ate pizza crust and breadsticks with gusto. He does a commando crawl around the house where he wages war on everything his hands can reach and is now very adept at pulling himself up so that he can ransack coffee tables and shelves: such a contrast to Mia who was content to sit and look at books at his age.
Sean surprised us a couple of weekends ago: he treated your dad and I to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate the fact that his stock had crept up a few dollars. His company also seems to have placed some stock in him as he was recently invited to present a report he had compiled for Cerner to the CDC in Atlanta. He flew down with the VP of his division, made his presentation and flew back that night. He certainly works horrendous hours, including weekends! Fortunately he still finds time for us: one Saturday he bought three loads of laundry and lunch for all from McDonalds. Norm was delirious with delight as he savored his fish sandwich! To reciprocate we took Sean to dinner at Barleys where once again your dad ordered his usual fish n’chips despite having had fish for lunch! No wonder those statins aren’t doing much to reduce his cholesterol!
Bryn and Josh came over on Sunday to watch the football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Indianapolis Colts. I was hoping for a Chiefs victory so that I could call Ming and suggest he move his family to a town with a winning team. Too bad that we lost. The boys brought Brats to grill for lunch – for once all that was requested of me was afternoon tea! Josh declared his tea delicious but said the whole experience would have been even more delightful if his mother had baked some cookies to dunk in his tea. Motherly guilt caused me to offer my emergency supply stashed in the back of my pantry. One never knows when unexpected company might arrive and I like to be prepared. Now the boys will probably tear my kitchen apart looking for hidden snacks.
I have to admit that my boys have given me quite a break from the kitchen in recent weeks: one weekend Bryn arrived with Steaks and Shrimp which he grilled for us and Josh picked up the pizza tab one football Sunday. Coryn has invited us over to her house for dinner a couple of times – primarily because she wants me to haul all her summer clothes out of her closet and replace them with her winter things while she lies on the bed with her dogs debating whether she will ever wear each item again. We thought about doing it earlier this month but your dad didn’t feel up to it. But we are now planning on being there this Thursday. Coryn suggested picking up Chinese for dinner but your dad has been tempted by the Red Lobster commercials on TV and has decided that we will eat there. I’m still waiting for Coryn to use her stove.
Myrna and Ron were hoping to visit last weekend but at the last minute they canceled. Unfortunately Myrna wasn’t feeling too well and felt her back wasn’t up to the long car ride. I was so disappointed as their visit had given me great incentive to clean my house and plan activities. Hopefully they will be able to come down soon – before I have to clean my house all over again!
Ming-Jon is still anxiously trying to find a job so if anyone has any bright ideas please make sure you let him know. Coryn and Jeremy will be visiting Kay later this month at Tufts as they are spending a long weekend in Boston to celebrate Coryn’s 32nd birthday on the 21st of the month- just in case you need to be reminded! The age I was when Bryn was born – my seventh child. I don’t think any one is going to emulate this feat!
Marc has moved into his condo and judging from the photo’s he has posted it needs work. Only a visit from me, his interior decorator savvy mother can possibly save him from this disaster. I need his credit cards and carte blanche. It is not an eligible bachelor’s pad but a pathetic I still live like an impoverished student dorm room.
Lori’s dad had to have heart bypass surgery and unfortunately had some complications afterwards but is now home and hopefully recovering well. Let’s hope he enjoys the heart healthy diet more that Norm!
Since I started this letter your dad has made another trip to the ophthalmologist: once again we had a problem. One of the office girls had inadvertently scheduled our appointment for a time when our doctor was not working at that facility. She quickly realized that I was seeing red and said he would be in the office that afternoon so she could squeeze us in then if that would be convenient for us. Of course I let her know that making another round trip was inconvenient but that we would return.
Later that day Norm’s eyes were examined and he was given a new prescription for his lenses so we made another stop to order his new glasses. Seemingly unaware of our reduced budget your dad decided on some very expensive frames and progressive lenses. The bill came to over $600.00. I mentioned that he could use the frames from one of the existing pairs he has or just use generic reading glasses but he was focused on getting the best possible materials. I hope he doesn’t have any more vision changes for a few years.
Halloween will soon be here but glorious sunny days, a yard full of flowers and fluttering butterflies plus all the chipmunks, squirrels and birds squabbling over my seed feeders make it seem as though summer is still here. The only sign of fall - the leaves littering my lawn. Fortunately there will be less of them this year as two of my neighbors have cut down trees that were bordering my yard – which means I will be digging up all my shade loving plants next spring and replacing them with sun lovers.
Don’t forget how much you enjoyed trick or treating when you were young children so pass the fun on by putting on your porch light and handing out some candy. Norm has actually taken over manning the door on Halloween - he hands the candy bucket to the kids and tells them to help themselves! I’m amazed that one of them hasn’t helped themselves to the whole bucket yet! Hopefully there will be a few pieces left over to keep my sugar levels up.
Time to check on the bats in my belfry, your spooktacular Mom.
