Something Sweet with Susan

It’s been a while since my last post, so I thought I’d catch you up on how life has been treating me.

My summer stayed busy.  I’m one of those people who, if I don’t have something to do, I’ll find something to do.  Many of my days were spent in the pool.  I still don’t know whether it’s my heart condition, medication, or post-menopause causing my heat intolerance, but it’s one of those mysteries no one has figured out yet—and it’s incredibly frustrating.  I still get occasional chest pain and pain behind my left shoulder blade, and I’ll admit it scares me.  I remind myself that I’m not unusually tired, not short of breath, and not losing my voice during conversations—symptoms I had before my heart attack.  If you’ve ever had one, I don’t think you ever fully shake the fear that comes with any new chest pain.

Fall in Tennessee was beautiful, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  Football season is always a fun time at our house.  Also, once the weather finally cooled, I was able to get back on the golf course, which felt wonderful.

Since my last post, the best news is that things have been quiet on the health front—usually my main topic. I’m grateful that my Parkinson’s and heart disease haven’t brought on any new issues.  I truly feel blessed.

Right now, I’m on a flight to Palm Springs to spend Thanksgiving with my youngest son and his family.  Back in February, I started searching VRBO for a house big enough for all of us.  I found one with a large kitchen, an island, two sinks, and double ovens.  Bingo!  The perfect place to cook a full traditional Thanksgiving meal.

And, as anyone who knows me would expect, I might be slightly OCD when it comes to organization.  I printed all my recipes, filled an online grocery cart with everything we needed for delivery when we arrive, and then had what I thought was a brilliant idea:  I pre-measured all the dry ingredients for each recipe into labeled Ziploc bags.  It saves so much prep time, and I didn’t have to rebuy every spice, flour, sugar, and so on.  Some of the bags were packed full of white powder, and my friends were convinced TSA would never let me through.  One even joked they’d think I was a drug mule. HaHa!

If you ever find yourself cooking a holiday meal in an unfamiliar kitchen—good news—my plan worked.  I held my breath at security, but the TSA agent didn’t hesitate at all when my carry-on full of powders went through.  Thank goodness, because I would’ve been very unhappy if they’d taken them.

Wherever you are this Thanksgiving, I hope you can count your blessings more than your problems.

I recently read that happiness is found in three things: letting go of what was, enjoying what is, and having faith in what will be.

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
Psalm 100:4-5.