Walking on Wednesday ~ It's the Little Things...

 Talk about a break in blogging. Yes, guilty again. But as I sit here, procrastinating on writing my paper for my Leadership and Management class, pondering the last few days, I can only say life happens in the little things. 

I try not to over-share. I like my privacy, and try to only share the lessons learned and not too many of the details of how I got there. But the last week has been a lesson in the little things. It is the little milestones, the little every day things, the little (but often seemingly huge) interruptions to normal life. The little things help you see how lucky you are. So here and now I will share, perhaps over-share, my latest little interruption, and how the little things made all the difference.

A little backstory, I had a milestone this year. I reached an age where my doctors said, "Oh, you are 'this age' (Not 37, which I stayed at for a number of years, nor 42, a nice number I stayed at for a number of years as well. A big milestone, the big one half of 100). The doctor continued, "Happy Birthday, time for your colonoscopy." Happy Frikin Birthday to me! So I said um, I guess so, and dreaded the day for months. 

Then, my friend happened to have one scheduled a couple weeks before me, and I got to hear about how it really was. The planning, the prepping, the procedure. In hindsight, let me tell you, she did not tell me the half of it. 

Changing the diet 4 days before, well I would miss the grainy seedy breads we have been enjoying, and even could handle the no berries that hubby gladly ate in front of me. And no pulp? Well I have a strainer, so I can still have lime in my water. No onions, crap I add those to everything. When she said, after she had finished the whole process, that "the day before was a little rough, but the procedure was fine", I thought to myself - cool, I can handle that I think.

Well, the day came and I won't bore you with all of the gritty details. I will summarize by saying there is nothing harder than trying to drink 4 liters of a liquid that is supposed to clean you out makes you gag with every sip. My poor hubby had to run to the store to try to find something I could cut the taste of the stuff with, because what I thought would work DID NOT. I went through half a bag of key limes by the end of it, and still threw up a little and was nauseous and sick the whole day, and it cleans you out - to put it mildly. 

I was squeezing limes all day.

What it does is really makes you question many things - mainly why you would agree to such a thing?!? By late evening, as the nasty liquid did its job and did it well, I was questioning the whole thing, on the verge of tears. More than 8 hours I was trying to get this crap down my throat. Finish by 6pm - HA. I was lucky to be done by 11pm, which really was 1 o'clock A.M. Then I worried that was too late. So worry I did, while fighting the gags, while in the bathroom, all night. Sick and worried. 

Then, the day of, I was alone in the hospital, waiting to be knocked out, so I wouldn't remember a thing from the actual procedure, that is how they do it here. I decided I will NEVER DO THIS AGAIN. Maybe I am a wuss, so be it. I felt nauseatingly sick the entire day before, and was tired, hungry, and freezing cold (why do they keep it so dang cold in the hospital??) waiting for the procedure all alone (thanks COVID - no one in the prep room, recovery room. It was waiting area only for 3 and a half hours for hubby). It felt like torture. A torture I willingly signed up for, just because my doc said 'well you are 'that age'!

"A little rough" was the understatement of the year, as far as I was concerned. Never again. 

Mosquito Road - it was a nice little walk today

So today I am recovering. I actually feel pretty good, after sleeping most of the day yesterday afterwards, and enjoying a nice Wendy's Hamburger with fries, ignoring the suggested 'no fried foods diet right after the procedure'. Yup - decided I would enjoy every little thing. Even if the fries were not the best, a bit cold, I ate every last one.

Silly Shadow Picture
A tad creepy, especially hubby lurking nearby...

We managed to get a nice walk in, and I decided to just take pictures of whatever strikes me as interesting. Didn't matter if it was silly or not, I just needed to fully appreciate every little thing. Monday was so bad, I wanted to get back to enjoying every little thing. And let me say, just snapping pictures yielded some pretty cool things. If I wasn't snapping pictures, I wouldn't have put the effort in to seeing just how cool they were. 

Mosquito Plane Flying over the Mosquito Roads

The mosquito plane, a common sight here, and much appreciated in our opinion. We are not often outside when he flies over. Usually he flies around sunset, but today he was out and about in the early hours. It is quite something to have it fly so close. Pretty damn hard to get a picture of too, by the way. We shouldn't have been surprised he was out and about, really, we do call this Mosquito Road. Sometimes we even make up lyrics to our own song, Mosquito Road Blues. Luckily we didn't get hit with what he was spraying today.

Mama Duck - in her neighborhood.
We think it is the same one who comes to visit our yard.

Then, what truly made the walk that much more special. Mama Duck in her own neighborhood. And to our delight and surprise, her babies.

Mama Duck and her two babies
they blend in so well.

They were so young, probably newly hatched few days ago. As Mama Duck walked along side us, on the other side of the small waterway, she brought her babies to a little bridge connecting to us. Hubby sweetly started talking to the duck. He told her to 'stay on that side, there could be not so nice people that come by. We are the nice ones. We will bring you food, stay there with your babies.' 

Alright hubby, sweetness overload there. Maybe he got used to taking care of me for those few days. Making sure I have nothing but approved soft foods (no onions (!), no apples, no good bread, no berries, etc. BUT white bread, mushrooms, and cheese are okay...PIZZA!) 

Encouraging me to drink 4 liters (!!) of Klean-Prep. On the phone with me while he wandered the store asking me if I would like to try mixing that crap with this and that, and this and that again, while I googled 'Klean Prep is making me sick' and finding out I was not alone in this hell. Sadly we had no gin (a suggestion to help get the liquid down!), but he did find some flavored stuff you squirt in water and that helped. Plus I had the limes, which did help, for a while (if I rubbed it on my tongue right after gulping as much as I could). 

He gently led me through the all the gagging, and even started the washing machine so I could just drop what I was wearing right in after rinsing, when it was clear I was not ready for the stuff to start working so violently. A man who can get you through that prep, who is patient through all your whining, who drives you to the hospital, and waits for you to finish, and drives you home, going through the Wendy's Drive through so you can eat for the first time in a day and a half. He is a keeper. 

Silly Shadows 2
a little creepy

Even if he is a bit creepy in shadow form. 

It really is the little things that make life so bearable, wonderful even. Let's not overlook the little things.