Betty’s Week

Betty’s Week
By Betty Shearer

With school out, we have a new resident at the Cole Assisted Living house in Pope. Great-niece Caroline has come for an extended visit with Pa Bill, MeMaw, and me. She’s such a delight and so helpful. She is my waitress – delivering my food to me and then returning the plate and glass to the sink. She also entertains by playing games with me. Caroline is a professional slime engineer. She has made every color and decorated slime imaginable. I’ve not yet become a slime lover – maybe in time.
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Monday, I had a visit from my nurse, and all my vitals were normal, as usual. To be considered sick, I sure do check out fine on all the scheduled tests – blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen, etc. Main problem at the present is no energy. When chemo is completed, hopefully that will right itself.
Jimmie and I went over for a visit to the house and to pick up med refills Tuesday. Found Mike Mills working under the house, with his oldest daughter as his helper. She seemed very efficient. Wednesday, we accomplished absolutely nothing, just ate, watched TV, and dozed. Was so glad to have Al and Betty Davis, along with Ruth and Johnny Perkins stop by late that afternoon. We had a great visit, which sure did liven up the day.
Thursday was shower day, followed by a trip to the grocery store. Jimmie and Caroline shopped while I watched other shoppers in the parking lot. Some of these families must be huge, or they surely eat a lot of food. One customer came out with a standing buggy of beverages and two completely loaded buggies of groceries. Maybe he was buying for several families or maybe a commercial kitchen. Parking lot observing is an entertaining pass time until the parents begin letting the children run loose among the moving vehicles – then I have to close my eyes.
Jim and Celeste arrived back in the Valley late Thursday night. On Friday they began helping with the Years Ago Columns (one of my jobs) for the next few weeks. On Saturday, they tackled the impossible chore of cleaning out my walk-in closet and then rearranging it to where I could reach everything and maneuver in the limited space.
Friday, Physical Therapist, Beth Carver, visited. I was able to do everything she requested. She arrived on a good day, and it’s always a joy to have her visit. All the Baptist Home Health folks are great, but I’ve known Beth and her family for a long time, and she just seems like visiting with family.
At the Cole house Saturday, the calves got their second shots and are almost ready to wean. They have grown to almost the size of their moms. It’s been so much fun watching them through these early weeks of their lives. I do enjoy all phases of country life. Bill is growing a vegetable garden in pots, and his tomatoes are outgrowing their cages – he’s had to make larger ones from bigger wire. I’m sure hoping for some delicious tomato sandwiches.
Night entertainment Saturday was one of the John Wayne movies. Don’t think he made a bad one. During commercials Caroline took up portrait painting, making a composite of her MeMaw and me in our younger days. She had one side with red hair, brown eyes, and freckles, with the other a blond, with blue eyes and fair complexion. It was an interesting painting.
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Sunday, Jimmy again fed the family. Attending were Celeste, Jim, Bo, and Carolyn, with Misty and Briley, Bill, Caroline, and of course me (they can’t get rid of me). Briley and Caroline taught Celeste to play one of their complicated computer games. After Celeste’s game lesson, she, Jim, and Jimmie hooked up Jimmie’s computer, where I’m struggling to keyboard this column. Don’t expect much.
Have had a pretty good week health wise. Am about halfway through the first week of this round of chemo, and if it progresses as the other rounds have, it should get better until I have to have more chemo in about a week and a half. Again, many thanks for all the prayers, visits, cards, and calls. All of you are so precious to me.