As I strive to recover from yet another surgery and other effects of my condition, I am also dealing with the fact that my beloved father is in hospice care many states away and I cannot be there.

I feel all kinds of frustration, sadness, and I want to cry, scream, stomp my feet and cry some more.  Instead, I am stuck in a recliner or on the couch.  Being prevented from doing activities, and the boredom of that, and the knowledge that I cannot go and be there with my father and family in these last most precious days.

I try to keep in contact with family and talk to my father as often as I can.  I sent flowers and a big box of candy for the family to enjoy while they are there visiting.  Yet, it is sad I feel I am not there when I am most needed.

While sitting here I decide to practice the yarn over knitted stitch my dyslexic mind cannot wrap around.  Still practicing that, I think I got it, but they do not look alike.  The knitted fabric looks like there is something wrong with it, all these wholes of various sizes and shapes.  I must put it down for a bit.

Then my friends come by, bringing dinner and another night other friends brings a pot with two baked chickens and some tasty rice.  Today, another friend pops in and brings some blueberry/raspberry muffins,  picked her own berries.  Then yesterday another friend brought a big box of seedless black California grapes, yum.  It is hard to focus on my woes with all this good love and support.  Olivia, she painted the walls in my kitchen for me and did some vacuuming and dusting.  Devoted friends are hard to find, and harder to keep, thus I have learned from the bible how to be a friend too.  It is so wonderful how good my friends are, they cheer me up so.

On that note, if you learn of anyone in your life going thru a tough time, what can you do about it?  Can you send them a card via snail mail?  Is a text really good enough for those you care for.  Can you invite them and their family to dinner at your home and practice your amazing cooking skills on them?  Or go to an antique or resale shop and buy a lovely teacup and saucer and a doily, gift wrap them and take them or send them.  Really, a kind word is a lot.

When my spleen was being removed a few years ago, my Dear friends in Maine got together and sent me some wonderful things they gathered and put in a box.  My friend was right on cue, when I only merely mentioned Oh, by the way I am getting my spleen removed.  I am really getting behind on the house and my garden has gone to ruin,… etc. she jumped into action.  They sent me jams they made from berries they picked, and maple syrup from trees they tapped, and other friends put in things and it was just the most delightful event unexpectedly receiving this in the mail.

We love to invite people over to dinner and that really works out well.  We can really sit and visit and they always enjoy looking over my interesting homestead.  We enjoy learning about others.  Once, when there was a hurricane, there were a bunch of Chinese students here on a work program and they were scared.  We invited them here for the storm and we worked on sewing projects.  Teaching one to sew, another to mend, and just had a great time.  We roughed out the storm and made some great memories.

At this point, instead of allowing myself to focus on my present situation which is out of my control, I am going to focus on all my fabulous blessings.  Being Fat, Fit an Fab greatly depends on our maintaining the most healthful attitude while we endure unpleasant situations out of our control.  Making the best of our time, I think I need to start writing some thank you notes.