Thanksgiving

Well, this has been one of the most difficult Thanksgiving's I've ever had. Last night, Thanksgiving eve, while I was working on a home project, (installing a new phone line into the office--Nettie's old room) my older brother, Sterling, called me up from Lakeview hospital in Bountiful and told me that mom had to be admitted to the emergency room because her heart rate had sped up and could not be regulated, and that he needed me down there to help give her a blessing.

Mom's problems were the culmination of the tremendous stresses she's been going thru taking care of dad, whose health is deteriorating rapidly. Sterling and I talked to mom for a little while after we gave her the blessing, and she is truly fearful that dad will pass away shortly. Sterling and I had to console her, yet we had to firmly bring up the idea that it is time to put dad in a care facility these last days/months that he will be around.

After Ster and I left the hospital, I went over to mom and dad's house to check up on dad. My older sister, Maureen, was there taking care of dad and trying to get things set up for the Thanksgiving meal today. When I got there dad was a wreck. He was just, there. He has become a shell of his former self, and seeing him lying in his bed all crippled up was excruciatingly difficult to bare. I decided that it would be best to stay the night with dad and try to help him out however I could. I called Jodi and received her blessing, and thus ensued one of the hardest night's of my life without a shadow of a doubt.

I never thought that the day would come where I had to be the caregiver to my dad. I had to help him relieve himself, take his medications, change his clothes, and make sure that he didn't fall down the stairs. I slept the better part of three hours, intermittently, through the night because dad required so much attention. It was a night, I admit, that I cried because this is not what Dad should be going thru, yet he is. I left mom and Dads' house around six thirty this morning and drove home, where physically, emotionally, and spiritually I was exhausted and went to bed.

Jodi called up her parents and told them that we wouldn't be having Thanksgiving dinner at our house today, to which they were agreeable to, and we scheduled to get together tomorrow. I am thankful that mom was released from the hospital this morning, thankful that I have a loving family, thankful that I'm home from Kuwait, enjoy good health, and that my dad is the greatest dad a guy could ask for. Pretty damned awesome if you ask me.

I hope everyone else had a great day today.

Random Thoughts

Drill weekend this weekend, my first since returning back from Kuwait in September. It was good to be back with the 'guys' from my shop. I have a great bunch of guys in my shop, and if it were not for their dedication, my job out there wouldn't be fun at all. Juan Vasquez is my main go to guy, a real equalizer when I get all worked up over something stupid. There's also Brian Scholle, Steve Voigt, Rick Ebert, Eduardo Robles, Brian Teel, and Brent Nielson. Ed and Teel deployed with me to Kuwait.


One thing that did suck today was the flu vaccination. We use to get injections, but now those of us who are under 49 and 1/2 get the vaccine via a nasal mist. Yum. Nothing like inhaling flu serum and having it drain down the back of your throat. I'm a bonafide wimp when it comes to needles, but compared to the mist I'll take the needle anyday. I remember basic training when we would go through the cattle shoot for our vaccinations and they were administered by air injection. The airmen who gave the injections were in training themselves and I think some of them were sado-masochistic henchmen who loved to see the recruits writhe in abject pain and suffering.

November is now here. Where in the world has this year gone? Wow. I love November because this is Thanksgiving time,and that is my favorite holiday time of the year. And fishing should be kicking butt should I ever get out.

No fishing pictures this time. Sorry.

Jodi and I spent all day cleaning out our basement, a long overdue necessity. We've collected twenty years of garbage and junk, and we could no longer stand to risk personal injury trying to negotiate our way to the kids rooms, or anywhere for that matter. We rented a trailer/dumpster for the day, one of those they drop off, we fill up, and they come back and haul it away, no questions asked. Best 150 clams I've spent in a while.

I had to take my green car in for repairs this morning. Dang near three hundred dollar repair, and it wont be done until Monday. I had to get it inspected because its registration is up at the end of this month, and in an effort to expedite the inspection, i took it up to the service center on base, who failed the inspection because the emergency flasher button was broke. Its been broke for three years and has passed every time, but the new guy there failed it, and now I'm stuck with a repair I wasn't expecting.

I can pretty much do any repair on that car, but is one of those repairs that I rather wish a expert take care of because it requires tearing the steering column apart. Had I taken the car to Main Street Service in the first place, I would be three hundred clams ahead about Monday. Oh well.

TGIF

Looking upstream towards the Dam (not seen)
Sterling (right) and Clark (left) and guide in the boat
**********Best Friend Ted, landing a fish on the Green*******

Thank goodness it's Friday! The one big perk to my employment is that I work four tens, meaning that Fridays are my be lazy and do what I want day.

Speaking of my job, I returned from work this week after a five month break to fulfill my military commitment over to Kuwait. The last month was spent burning up leave that I had accrued while deployed. I worked on some house projects that were left undone prior to deploying, and I went fishing on the Green River, below Flaming Gorge Dam, back on the 24Th of September. My best friend, Ted Ridl, and I fished on one drift boat while my older brother Sterling and his son Clark fished in another boat. Between the two boats we managed to land about 70 fish, mostly rainbows and brownies. The weather was absolutely perfect and the scenery was spectacular as always.

Back to my job. Four weeks was a long time to be off of work and I was ready to at least have some time back doing something. It felt as if I was the new guy on the team upon returning Monday, and I've had a bit of a readjustment period, to say the least. The team did just fine in my absence, and maybe I should have just stayed away all together, hahahahahahaha!

I lack computer literacy, so my blogs will be sporatic at best. I make no excuses for my computer ineptitudinal failings.

North Fork of the Duchesne Fishing Trip 07/26/2006

Christopher, Grandpa Jensen, Clark

Christopher

Christopher, Clark

North Fork of the Duchesne

Me, Chris