his and her wellies
These are the boots we wear to irrigate. Mine are cream colored with koi fish designs. And Jim’s? Well, his are basic black.
This weekend Jim taught me the ropes of flood irrigating our land. It’s no easy task. I have a new admiration for the work he does.
And gratitude.
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easter tulips
It never was my intent to learn how to irrigate. I have many passions as it is. I love the land, but its care and feeding—that’s my husband’s domain.
But something happened. The Saturday morning before Easter, I heard Jim calling for me from the bedroom. I opened the door and found Jim collapsed on the bed. Minutes later, three paramedics and two ambulance attendants were in our home.
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serenity (for jim)
Jim is fine. He is alive and better than ever. He had blockages in his heart, which have been opened. He has more energy than he’s had for a very long time.
But it’s going to take him and me both some time before we stop thinking about how fragile life is. Although, perhaps that’s something we don’t ever want to take for granted again anyway.
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Postscript: Jim is fortunate. He didn’t have a heart attack on the Saturday before Easter, but he did have a close call. The medical staff at the hospital were savvy enough to know that Jim needed to be treated. They kept him in the hospital over the weekend then first thing on Monday performed an angioplasty and inserted two stents. A main artery was almost completely closed, with only half the heart functioning. There was no damage to the heart. Jim’s healthy lifestyle likely contributed to the fact that he is still here today.
Jim is a tender soul and a genuinely humble man. He told the cardiologist who did the procedure, “Thank you for saving my life.” As Jim now tells the story, the doctor smiled and said, “It was my pleasure.”
I thank that doctor too!
I consider Jim my best friend, now going on 20+ years, even though now I only see him once or twice a year, I still hold him close to my heart. I love both of you dearly.
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Bless your heart, Barin. We love you, too. Jim was just talking about you to his parents today. Everyone’s been asking about Canada and the Tour. Are you still goin’, are you still goin’? Yeah, I probably will, he said, no way I can leave Barin hanging. BTW, his doctor said he should be able to do it, and of course, time will tell. But I know if he’s physically up for it, he’s not about to let you or himself down.
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I’m still going!
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Aggghhh, life is so fragile and so uncertain, and yet we live in the busy-ness of it all as we are compelled to do, only making time to smell the flowers now and again.
It’s a painful lesson, but with such a happy outcome for you, we must all be grateful for it. Those awakenings come sprinkled throughout our lifetime…..when the babies are born, or the grandparent passes, a soldier’s funeral, when children put on a play or draw you a picture, listening to a live band and wanting to stay there wrapped up in the music forever, always, always while gazing into beautiful art….and maybe even the occasional stunning sunset!
I am so glad for your lesson, and the precious love and deep appreciation that follows. Blinders off, eyes and heart wide open! May it always be so.
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yb,
This post brought back many memories and made my eyes tear up (a more common occurrence as I get sicker). I some ways you and Jim have not only been given the gift of extended life but you have also been given a gift of greater appreciation of the roles you play in each others lives.
One thing you will need to stand vigilant on is that when things go back to normal and everything seems to be falling back into those old familiar patterns you have to shake the apathy of the day to day and look back on these memories and recommit to their lessons.
Great news that things are going well, I will continue to send healing thoughts to Jim and love to your family.
R3
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YB & your beloved family,
Although we’ve never met in person, I feel like I know you by the writing you do concerning your family….so, I too will express my gratitude for the outcome of this episode, which sould be a reminder to us all of how precarious yet precious are the lives we share together! May God continue to hold you tenderly in His ever-present love and care!
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ybonesy, I’m so happy that things turned out well with Jim. It was shocking to get your email that day. Fragile…I remember thinking how fragile life is. Yet, at the same time, people wield incredible strength with the way they move through and navigate the things life throws at them.
I’m grateful that you and your family are safe. How are the girls doing with it? I’ve been thinking a lot about them. Everything has changed.
Like R3 mentions, my eyes teared up when I read this post. It is tender. And honest. And I’m reminded of the fragility I’ve seen with my family, the scares and close calls. It feels like some kind of call to the present. To live well, live now. Thank you for writing this. And my best to Jim. I am glad I have gotten to meet him when I’ve visited you in NM. He really is a Hummingbird Whisperer. A steward of the land.
Sometimes I think about you making your way through this, how you will be changed. You mention learning to irrigate. Will it come out in your art? The way you live your life? I guess all that remains to be seen. Big hug to you.
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yb, though I’ve never hugged you in person, I’m sending you and Jim and your girls a big one now. I dearly hope you can feel it. A second chance is an amazing and rare gift. I’m so glad one found it’s way to your Family. God Bless 😉
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Thanks, Heather. I can feel it. 🙂
QM, thanks for all your support. The girls are doing well. They’re getting lots of attention from us both. I was supposed to be in Vietnam this week and last, and so of course having Mom home instead has been a positive. And Jim feels so much better than he had been before this happened; he really was sick, and it’s only in hindsight that we can see how sick he was. But he was working through it. So the fact that he feels better is something we can all feel. He’s lighter. Fragile but light.
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R3 and oliverowl, all I can say is I am so fortunate to have met you through QM and how fortunate she is to have such a loving family and extended family! You are the best!
R3, I had just sent you an email, I mean literally, a moment before I heard Jim calling out. What coincidence! And I have thought of you often, thought of your health. I so pray for you, too.
How does one stay vigilant, I wonder? It’s easy to fall back into the grooves we’ve made, isn’t it? I’ve spent a lot of time with Jim and the girls, and especially Jim, taking walks, eating lunch together, talking. How to ensure we keep living as though life is the precious gift it is? I will try my hardest.
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trish, thanks so much for visiting and commenting. We appreciate your support. I was marveling just today at the wonder your school has been and how so many of the people associated with it have been central in the lives of our family. ‘Tis a sign of a special place, and you’ve created that. Thanks for everything.
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YB – why is it sometimes, when you go through the toughest times in your life, and it seems nothing will be good again, you find that eventually everything is so much better than you ever imagined it. I think once we become consciously aware of how fragile life is, we become less afraid to embrace it. Fragility needs embracing. Life needs embracing. I’m glad Jim’s doctor ok’d the Canada riding trip and he is still intending to ride with Barin. Both you and he are my heroes!!!
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Reading posts like this take me back to 1989, when my mother-in-law suffered a (thankfully mild) heart attack. After she had the angiogram and the angioplasty, and I received a phone call that she was OK. Told my boss, a big Afghani man named Assad. Assad raised his hands to the sky and called out with joy, “Thanks, God!” Here I am, all these years later, an admitted atheist, and still, I think of his happiness, and want to say, “Thanks, God!”
So glad he’s OK. Big Whew. By the way, my MIL has off and on heart problems, a genetic thing in the family. But she’s still doing well, and found a new career from it…yoga instructor. 🙂 She took up yoga to help care for her heart, and fell into teaching eventually.
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J, I loved reading about Assad and his Thanks, God! That’s such a direct statement. Thanks, God. That’s how I feel.
And a yoga instructor! Great life change.
Neece, well put. I do hope Jim will be up for the ride. I know he wants to, but only time will tell for sure.
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