Birthday to Remember

April 9, 2019 Shirleyjdietz12 Comments

April 8^th, My Birthday 2019

Do you remember any of your birthdays? How you celebrated? A special gift you received? Someone who surprised you with a visit or a greeting of some kind?

I try to have something memorable happen on my birthday most every year, and I’m willing to come up with it and do it alone if no one is available. This year I didn’t have to do it alone. My mom and I did something together. We got sick.

Food poisoning, but we can’t figure out what it was for sure. I spent the day barely able to move without passing out. In spite of being very dehydrated, neither of us wanted to risk putting food or drink into our unstable stomachs. I spent the day crawling from the bed to the recliner and back again. I cancelled the one appointment for the day – the gym – since there was no energy available for training. In short, it was not the memorable event I had in mind. I get a rain check, right?

Today is better. We are both on our feet a little more, but still glad not to have a lot to do today. It is amazing how dependent we are on vital elements, like water. Take away ten pounds of water weight, and I’m barely able to function. It definitely reminds me of my episode of dehydration on the Appalachian Trail and the recent D post I wrote on dehydration.

It all makes me think of how we are designed, with enough flexibility to cover the usual ups and downs of life. Most of the time we don’t have to think about how much we’ve eaten or not eaten, or whether we’ve had enough to drink. Food and beverage are available to us on a pretty regular basis, leaving us free to worry about lesser things.

But there are places in this world where it is not so. What must it feel like to live in a body that is little more than skin and bones, where there is no food or water to be had? It happens in our own country, where being homeless or in poverty can make it so difficult to be fed with something nutritious. I was overcome with weakness, loss of motivation, pain and the need to rest somewhere safe. I can’t imagine being out on the street in a city, or out in a desert village in Africa and trying to survive under those conditions.

I am grateful that I was at home yesterday, recovering slowly as I watched birthday greetings come in on Facebook. I got a delivery of flowers, several cards and a book I had ordered in the mail, a visit from my brother and his kind delivery of some Pedialyte. I have reasons to remember this birthday, just sayin’…

#atozchallenge: Water

April 28, 2016April 28, 2016 Shirleyjdietz5 Comments

I am so grateful for water. I was thinking about that while washing dishes the other night. We use water to carry the dirt away from everything we wash – our dishes, our clothes, our cars, our pets, our bodies, everything. If that were the only benefit of water, that alone would be enough.

The complexity of what water does inside our bodies is another mind boggling subject. We are composed of 50 – 75% water and all our basic functions depend on having enough of it inside the cells, outside the cells, in the bloodstream. Every biochemical reaction in our bodies takes place in water and we can’t produce it ourselves, nor store adequate amounts of it. We have to take it in, or we die rather quickly.

And so we have a planet to live on that is watered with a beautiful closed system of purification and re-use of water, that has vast amounts of water stored underground, and seas and oceans, lakes and streams almost everywhere. It is a perfect match for our needs. That being said, some of us have to work a lot harder for water than others. Some of us never have to consider how precious our water is and are wasteful of it, taking it for granted.

I’m not going to get real technical about water. I just want everyone to have a chance to think about water and how marvelous it is, in all its forms from rain to snow to steam. The beautiful clouds in the sky, the inspiring waterfalls that we flock to view, the cool lake that we jump into to cool off, the sprinkler that brings relief to our grass and plants and trees. Water is, well, kind of miraculous really. Just sayin’…

Ode to WH

February 12, 2014February 12, 2014 Shirleyjdietz7 Comments

This is to commemorate the death of WH (water heater) who died last night after 35 years of faithful service. In this day and age lasting in a useful fashion for that long is truly remarkable. The only other thing that approaches such a record these days is a package of hot dog buns which will last forever with no trace of mold.

WH was preceded in death by his brother WH2 who died late last year in the house next door. He had been suffering for several months from old age clicking, moaning and pinging and as some who knew both he and his brother remarked, “same equipment, same age, same water”. His death was not a surprise, but the family had hoped for a few more years.

His absence was first noted during what was supposed to be a hot water load of laundry. Following that he was found in the foyer closet where his “water spirit” had been set free. The papers, books and clothing that were with him when he died will never be the same. He was quite a water heater.

Fondly remembered for the many hot showers, clean dishes, and his warmth and faithfulness. Rest in peace WH. You will be missed.