Nashville is in our future

I love these days that have the smell and feel of spring.  After a few days of not going for a walk, due to rain or discomfort from the fire in my innards, I got back to it today; I didn't go all the way down the biggest hil todayl because when I traversed it two days ago I had problems; I wasn't going to be able to climb back up it that steep incline.  It was a day my stomach was bothering me anyway, and I think I just let myself get weak, laying around feeling sorry for myself.  Yesterday and today have been good days.

I went to see the nurse-practitianor at our doctor's office Tuesday to tell her the omeprazole wasn't working all the time.  I told her all the things I'm doing to try and get this fixed:  I quit drinking coffee and tea; Cliff raised the head of the bed 8 inches; I've stopped eating anything after 6 PM (three hours before bedtime).  She said there's one more thing we could try, and I was ready to try anything.  So now I have a pill that I take four times a day before each meal and at bedtime.  It's pretty tricky.  If I didn't have Alexa in the house, I wouldn't get it done properly:  I'm to take a pill an hour before a meal, on an empty stomach.  So I set a timer to remind me when to take the pill, then another hour timer so I know when to take the omeprazole   Then I can't eat for thirty to forty-five minutes.  Also, I can't take the new pills with my other meds.  This pill is only to be taken for four to six weeks, the hope being that it will heal me in that time.  I sure hope it works.  It isn't just the discomfort when it flairs up, but even when I feel fine, I'm afraid to make plans not knowing whether I'll be up for doing anything when the time comes.  

And we do have plans!  Cliff, his sister, and I are planning to go to Nashville next month.  I have our Grand Ole Opry tickets paid for and the hotel room reserved.  I would have liked to rent a house for three or four days through VRBO, but you can't cancel those if something goes wrong at the time of the trip; so I played it safe.  Things are pretty expensive in Nashville, but there are lots of things to see and do.  

We've been there before:  When Cliff was working at the butcher shop, his boss paid for rooms for the employees and we all stayed in the Opryland Hotel.  We went to the Grand Ole Opry, too.  That's about the cheapest vacation we ever went on (not for his boss, maybe)!   Then one time Cliff's mom, his two sisters and I went down to go to the Opry.  It was in late March.  Cliff's dad, who was always a perpetual prophet of doom, said we shouldn't be going at that time because it would be sure to snow.  I laughed, telling him Tennessee is farther south and probably didn't get snow in March.  Guess what?  After we got down there and stayed for one night, it began snowing.  Those people cannot drive in snow!  The whole trip home was a mess, and really, the snow is the main thing I remember about it.  I don't recall who starred on the Opry, although I know Jean Shepherd was there both times I attended.  Evidently she performed on most of the shows.  Not this time, though.  She's dead.  

The pussy willow that was barely more than a twig when my cousin Betty gave it to me is actually looking like a bush now and comes up to my chin.  The buds are swelled up as though they can't wait to do their thing.

I believe that's it for today.  Looks like a nice weekend coming up for the working folks.  

I want all my friends who live with chronic pain to know I think of them on those days when I don't feel well; I realize how lucky I am that, in my 75 1/2 years on earth, I've not had a lot of pain.  My knees are achy, but really that doesn't affect my quality of life unless I do too much walking; even then, when I sit down, I'm fine.  I feel for all those folks who get up every morning knowing it's going to be just one more painful day in a series, with no relief.  I've prayed for these people many times in the past, and surely will continue.  You know who you are.

Peace.