Happy Posting

[Mike Waters]

This father and daughter duo is the highlight of my favourite playlist.

[Mike Waters]

Welcome to Helen; our latest member

[Rita]

Good morning Helen , nice to see you registered.
I meant to ask you yesterday about the Forrest fires, you brought it up but I didn’t comment ( should have xx ) We haven’t heard anything recently on the news and my cousin who lives in Ontario made a comment about it raining so hard her plants are drowning ………..how is it where you are ?

Much love to Dave xxxxx
Rita

[Helen]

Hi Rita , I’m using ‘bold’ as I can’t see the small print well enough .
  On a laptop we can hit “Control + “ and make the page bigger , but not on iPads .
 
Thanks for asking …the smoke here comes and goes …nothing like it was back in May, that was awful, like thick fog , couldnt see across the street and suffocating …itchy eyes , runny nose , sore throat ….Now it seems that late afternoons we smell it , and have to shut the windows , even when boiling hot !!!  No idea why, and it’s not as thick as back in May. 

    Still praying for all the needs …hugs …H

[Rita]

Hi Helen , If you look along the tool bar you will se an ‘A ‘ with a red arrow , if you click on that you can make the font size bigger in your post xx
Sorry to hear that you are still experiencing the smoke from the fires, I cannot begin to imagine what it must by like. I know last year when we had the extreme heat there was concern about the downs and places in Kent and the New Forrest had fires, but that’s minor compared to the fires you were getting x

[Mike Waters]

Welcome to our latest member Nancy.
I'm anxious to hear how she's presently coping with all her burdens.
God bless you my old friend.

[Nancy]

Hello everyone!
Good job, Mike, the forum is taking shape, and it's nice to see familiar folk arriving!  I do hope others join soon.  Would be great to do a bit of catching up with old forum friends.

Am sorry to hear of Christine's declining health, and I suppose we all suffer from at least a bit of OTD. The world's been through the pandemic thing, fires, floods, Donald Trump 😉 and other disasters.  They say the adaptability and perseverance of humans amazes the angels; life is certainly not easy. Yet we forge on.

I've had so many changes in recent years, I still wake up some mornings, and I can scarce believe the path of my own life.  We make our plans, but life certainly throws unexpected curves.

I gave up all social media in favor of reading the books I so love, yet this little forum will be a welcome addition to my days.  Living on my farm in a very rural setting limits social interaction, and while I'm a textbook introvert, I do often miss the better side of forum-life.

All for now, as I don't want to overwhelm. I've read each of your threads thus far and am happy to be here with you.  Thank you, Mike for the invite!  

[Nancy]

Hey all!

Not sure if you've noticed, but it is possible to go to your profile and check a little box beside "show most recent posts on top."  Just remember to scroll down and save profile changes.
Doing this will save you from having to scroll through future pages of old posts to get to the new.   

[Dave]

    A BIG 👍👍👍👍👍🤔🤔 thumbs up on this Mike, good choice mate.           

[Rita]

Hi Nancy , nice to see you here for a chit chat xxxxxxx
I wasn’t going to let you know on the other forum, but if you check out my corner you will see I had a viewing today and the lady like the house, still have a bit of waiting to do but we have a little hope xxxxx

[Helen]

Hey Rita
This is Nancy Piper from our ‘olden days’ of forum life , not Nancy Nappo …( spelling) just in case you had the wrong Nancy in mind..…
Though you could invite Nancy N to this little Site ….she could get us to pray for her house hunting etc she used to like a smaller forum . Plus she know Dave and myself , plus Pat …
Just a thought ! xx

WELCOME Nancy it’s soooo good to see you , you are not forgotten…..Dave often says - How’s Nancy doing ?

When I think of you ….
I remember the time you shared about God promising to be with you A L W A Y S!

Hugs …H xx

[Nancy]

Hi Rita!Good to be in touch!
And good luck to you with the selling of your house!  I have some catching up to do, but that will come in time.  Will follow your page to see how things go.  

Hi Helen!  Thanks, I wondered if Rita had the other Nancy in mind!  And, yes, the "ALWAYS" dream is one I remember well.

[Helen]

It makes me smile when I remember all of us being 30 years younger than we are now….!!!

    Soon….( if you feel to)  You’ll have to fill us in on the last year or so , of life for you and Kevin….
 Though I don’t want to make you sad by dwell on the negative challenges and struggles of your lives …

xx

 
 


 

[Pat]

Just so there's no confusion, there is only one of me but I could sign in so had to re-register.

[Nancy]

Soon….( if you feel to)  You’ll have to fill us in on the last year or so , of life for you and Kevin….
 Though I don’t want to make you sad by dwell on the negative challenges and struggles of your lives …

xx

Helen, there have been good changes, along with the bad, as is life. I cared for Kevin at home for 12 years until his needs became 24/7 and my bad knees and back would no longer allow it.  He's now in a nearby nursing home, and, at this point, his ms has left him only a small amount of function in his right arm and hand.  His speech is not always clear, but he can still communicate verbally. He has his down days, but, for the most part, people are amazed at how good his attitude is, considering the terrible extent of his disability.

Kevin and circumstances both encouraged and forced me to move forward in my own life.  A contractor that worked for us befriended both Kevin and I, and he never charged us for building the deck and handicap ramps he constructed.  He stayed with us, recovered the property I had lost with hours and hours of mowing and trimming and clearing.  He began helping me with Kevin to the extent that he could, and became the family to us that we didn't have. 

"Adam" is the only one who has helped us in so many practical ways, such as loading Kevin into the van, driving us to the ER at the hospital or to various clinics, and helping me continue on with chores and shopping and unloading of heavy feed sacks. Adam and I worked together so much, for so long, that we naturally grew very close and, now, with Kevin's blessing, we are essentially married, rings and all, although we can never make it legal because of pension, Medicaid, and other reasons. The "system" here in the states has been, and continues to be, a nightmare.

God sent me Adam just in time, and he has taken over all the work that Kevin once did.
With his help financially, I am able to keep my little farm and my many animals have kept their home, as well.  Adam is wonderful with the animals and they all adore him, even my sweet raccoon, which is another story.

Adam and I visit Kevin regularly, and bring him lots of food. (The nursing home food is just awful!)  We watch movies together, visit the many residents we've come to know, and watch football together each fall. We remain good friends.

It's been a long, hard, often terribly sad road, but as our lawyer/pastor has said, "Kevin is amazingly gracious" and his encouragement of Adam and I as a couple has been "an act of selfless love."

I've been blessed to have three wonderful, caring men in my life.
First, my father, who passed in 2020, during the Covid pandemic, then Kevin whom I was with for over forty years, and now Adam, who has stepped up and made it possible for me to go on. 

Kevin's next physical losses will be great.
He will likely lose the ability to communicate, and he may lose the ability to swallow. He currently must be hand fed, he has a catheter,and needs compression sleeves on his legs continuously to keep his blood flowing to prevent blood clots.  He's almost died five times.  Adam was with us through everything, helping tirelessly, and comforting us both. 

Kevin rolls in his reclining wheelchair through the nursing home, always trying to cheer on the other residents. He buys them gifts like jigsaw puzzles and neck braces.  He is President of the Resident Counsel, despite being the most disabled person there, and I am so proud of him. 

We try not to think ahead.  We take one day at a time.  So many adjustments for all three of us has been incredibly difficult, but we are all committed.  We take one day at a time and trust Jesus to see us through.