Friday, February 12, 2010

Snow, Hips, Horses, and a Sweetie-pie

Warning... this post has nothing to do with homeschooling or RVing! :-).............Well, we woke up to several inches of snow the other morning, with large flakes floating down... that was a surprise! I loved watching it fall - the silence was so peaceful. The Little One HAD to get out and play in it, of course, and built two mini-snowmen, harassed the cat, and had a snowball fight with a tree (she won). By late afternoon, it had all melted away. She wasn't very happy, but that was my kind of snow... it fell, she played, it melted. No problems!

I have been "under the weather" for the past several days... I dislocated my hip (again) and am in quite a bit of pain. It is an old injury that recurs occasionally... it happened so often years ago that my doctor finally showed me how to get the joint back into the socket... a very painful and so-not-pretty move, but it does the trick. The muscles, tendons, and ligaments get stretched and displaced though, which is what causes the lingering pain. In a few more days, I hope to be back to "normal". It would help if I could take pain medication, but my liver damage from the Lupus makes that a no-no. It just isn't worth it.

When I was 5 years old, we were riding horses at a local farm in south Georgia. I showed very early talent and was riding on my own by this time. I loved it - had dreams of competing! This particular Saturday afternoon, I was not riding my "usual" pony which was a little Welch named Lady... someone else had her out, so I was on a Shetland named Cookie. Anyone who knows horses knows that Shetlands can be finicky. We were out by the lake, and she was being very uncooperative. I guess she could sense the coming storm.

Suddenly, a loud clap of thunder shook the air and Cookie responded in kind. She went straight up, came down hard and broke into a gallop. When she came down, I lost my left stirrup and clicked my teeth together so hard that I am surprised there were any left. The force of her landing sent me sideways in the saddle. When she began to run, I was doing the only thing I could - holding on for dear life! She bucked once more, and sent me flying, only I didn't have time to kick out of the right stirrup... she drug me a couple of hundred feet before I could finally get free. I can still see the ground coming up to meet me with each and every bounce, and certainly remember how much it hurt! Thank goodness it was thick grass. If it had been hard packed dirt, the results would have been much worse.

The pain in my right hip was the worst, because my leg was twisted around. I ended up with a hurt hip, sprained arms, black eyes, bloody nose, and a terrible headache. For some reason which I cannot explain, my parents didn't take me to the ER... they took me home and cleaned me up and put me to bed. I guess they just didn't think I was hurt that badly. I was very sore and limped for quite a while with terrible pain in my hip. Probably had a slight concussion too, with the horrible headaches I had.... Hmmm.. that could explain a lot... :-)

The first time I re-injured my hip as an adult, they took x-rays and the doctor asked if it had ever been broken. I told him the story and he said that I had several hairline fractures that had not healed well, and that the the top of the hip-flexor was gone. That is why it "slips out" from time-to-time. I know my parents regretted not taking me to the doctor, but I guess they just didn't think I was hurt that badly. I'm looking at hip replacement surgery someday, that's for sure!

So, here it is almost Valentines Day and I've done nothing to prepare. The Little One LOVES a party, and we have to celebrate each and every holiday in the proper fashion. She wants a heart-shaped chocolate chip cookie-cake, with writing on it in red frosting. :-) So I've got to find a way to limp to the store to get the proper ingredients! She gave her grandmother some money yesterday to buy me a red rose, because she knows how much I love them.   She couldn't wait and just had to give it to me - isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?? She is my little Sweetie-Pie. Mean as a snake and totally monkey-fied some days, but still so very precious to me.

I hope you all have someone precious to celebrate V-day with. Be sure to tell the people you love exactly how you feel!

Monday, February 8, 2010

The Times They Are A-Changing...

Well, I am not doing so well on the bloggy thing... I was posting a comment on a friend's blog and realized how long it has been since I've worked on my own. Shame on me! :-)

Things have shifted and priorities have changed a little. I am still Homeschooling Solo, and will continue to as long as the good Lord allows it. But we are trying to set off on another journey, one I think will be filled with excitement and good times! And hard work, and problems, but we'll deal with those.

We are looking for an older RV that we can 1) afford, 2) refurbish, and 3) take out on the road! We plan to be Roadschoolers!! The Little One is SO excited... she would leave tomorrow! The Big One won't be going with us - they seem to get their own lives somehow, when we aren't looking, although I know that is the way it should be and I am happy for him. I do hope he will tag along or visit from time-to-time. He has the wandering spirit like I always have, so maybe he will. Or he may go off on his own adventures... Who knows? But right now, it looks as though Mom will be the one leaving the nest first! Wonder if I remember how to fly????

I am trying to find a way to earn a living on the road, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know! I am looking at workamping options, but so many of them seem like quite a few hours just for a FHU site... Most of them also want a couple. A couple of whats, I wonder?? :-)... I need to earn enough to keep us and the rig fed, warm, and dry. Working out of the RV would be great, if I can pull that off. I need something that allows me to have the Little One with me... wouldn't be comfortable leaving her in the RV alone. She is only 9.

Anywaaaay... I will try to post here more often... not sure anyone is interested in the meanderings of a single, homeschooling, hoping-to-be-on-the-road soon, likes-to-talk-too-much mom... I wonder if there are others out there??? Oooh... that is a scary thought! :-)