Born Again!

The year 2005 was a living nightmare, existing just like a robot.   Thanksgiving and Christmas were just another day; I was not in the spirit of Christmas and did not celebrate it either.

 It is customary for my son to visit me each Saturday ever since his father died ten years ago.   I had sent him an email on Thursday asking him if he was planning on visiting me the coming Saturday and if he’d drive me to the Mall to pick up the smoke alarm I had ordered from Sears.

 His reply came promptly: “Mom, the Mall will be crazy on Saturday; I will be coming on Sunday anyway.”

Huh? After a minute of mulling over his reply I remembered it was Christmas Day on Sunday. How could I have forgotten? May be I was having a “Senior Moment”

Senior Moments? I had plenty of those.   For starters, I would be very cold outside when the temperature was below 25°inspite of wearing thermal underwear, two layers of socks, hat, mittens and a heavy winter coat.  At home the thermostat was set at 72°F.  A year before   I would have gotten burnt at this temperature.

 I forgot to place the coffee filter before putting in the grind .Once  I started the washing machine and let it finish the cycle, when it stopped I went   to unload only to realize that I had forgotten to put in the dirty clothes.

I drove my car to the automatic car wash, paid the attendant the cash and followed his direction to steer and drive on.  The water started spraying when he yelled out “madam put the car in Neutral” I looked for N and couldn’t find it. I rolled the windshield down and said” please help me I can’t find N.”  He yelled out, “I can’t help you roll up the window and use Neutral.”  I panicked and took off my eye glasses, only to find that I was wearing very dark sun glasses and could not see the red letter N in the dark.

The scary moment came one night when I could not place where a cap sitting on the kitchen counter came from and what carton it belonged to.  I just left it there to figure it out in the morning. Next morning I made coffee and took out the cream, when I noticed the cap was missing. “Senior Moment?”  No way!

One night while watching a TV commercial for a prescription I was taking I became aware of the adverse effects: short term memory loss, reduced alertness, cold extremities, mental confusion, and depression to name a few. A red light flashed in my brain. I checked this medication on the internet (Google) and lo and behold I had all the adverse side effects for more than a year. 

I notified my doctor immediately and was advised to reduce my medication.  In just two days I was myself.  It feels so good to be “Born Again” Prayers do work miracles.  Amen

Nimmi Baker

I came home from work at 4:00 today.  Rewinded my Soaps, GH and OLTL. I started watching them while sipping a glass of cold juice and popping some peanuts. OLTL is getting very interesting. Then GH came on, and right in the middle of the show, there was interruption: A Special Report. ABC newsreporter started with a sad note, and shocked me with the news of Tim Russert's sudden death,due to heart failure at work.

Later, I switched to CNN news, and saw Tim's internist being interviewed.  Tim had coronary pronlems, but his BP and cholestral were under control. His health was good, he walked the treadmill in the morning, and there was no sign of any heart related problems.  A silent heart attack, the doctor declared and said that many women suffer from this condition.

Each day, I thank the Lord for letting me wake up, keeping me healthy enough to walk to work, for strength to do the house hold chores as well as take care of my yard.  I sit down for evening prayers, then go to sleep as if I may not wake up. So, I thank all my family, my friends, even those here on AARP, for allowing me to be their new friends.  Often, I wonder, if I too will die, like Tim Russert?  So be it, I am prepared.  It is the best way to go, in my opinion.

May Tim's soul rest in peace.  My sympathy and condolence to his family and fans.

Willim got me going on this topic.

Fred, my hubby, taught me a lot about husbands. He was unique in my opinion. Not all husbands are the same in how they treat their wives.  I had assumed that all husband were like Fred, loving, caring, giving, patient, sharing chores, until some of my close friends and relatives saw Fred and me together. They remarked: "I'd give anything to have a husband like yours." Hmm , I had taken Fred for granted?"

One of my close friends came to visit me from India, when I was 8 months pregnant. I could not bend down to buckle my sandals.  Fred stooped down to help. My friend teared up and said, "Nimmi, my husabnd would never do this for me. When I was pregnant, I got no help from him." I thanked the Lord, for a good husband.

One summer, my brother and his family came to spend a day with us. It was their first trip to America and they were very curious to see me married to an European man. I had made preparations to cook a big Indian meal for a family of four. During the cooking process I pulled a back muscle and was unable to move. All I could do was sit and groan with pain.  Fred took over where I had left off, and helped in serving the guests and clearing the dishes and the rest of the kitchen work.. My sister-in-law looked at her husband, my brother, and confronted him,"See, how Fred helps Niru?  I wish you would help me when guests visit us."

There are so many instances where Fred proved to be better than most husbands.  He was always be there for me when I needed him.  When I was new to this country, I got homesick a lot.  Fred'd drop whatever he was doing to cheer me up. He catered to all my whims and fancies. What a guy!

I could go on and on about him but I will stop. I can see him smile from above. I don't want to inflate his ego, but I will say, "thank you Fred, we'll meet again." :)

 I wrote this one day when I felt Fred near me.

Soul Mates

 We were two inseparable waves-

Sailing together in the deep blue sea-

Laughing, smiling, cuddling,

In a blissful embrace.

Suddenly one day, you drifted away-

You were nowhere to be found.

In agony and pain I called out to you,

Tears running down my cheeks

I cried in vain.

I prayed for your return.

For days, months and years-

Then one day, I felt your warmth,

A joyful mirth glowed in my heart

I realized then that,

You had not left me at all.

Well, I was asked to take a blood preesure lowering drug. Took it for three days. Yes, it brought my blood pressure down but the side effects put me out. Got dizzy, tired, feeling dull and lousy. What good is the prescription if I have to lie down and do nothing?  Even with high blood pressure I was energetic, lively and joyful. I am miserable now. 

A couple of days ago I had to make an emergency visit to my doctor, my blodd pressure was high. My usual doctor was not in so I got a new doctor. I went to the doctor, sat in the exam room after the nurse had taken all my medical information. After a few minutes the doctor walked in and joyfully said, " I was expecting to see an older woman not some one who looks fortyish."   My blood pressure went down by 20 points. Time to switch doctors eh?