Friday, December 31, 2004
Reflections
Although my blog has taken a back seat to the holidays, this being the last day of 2004 gives me cause for reflection. It has as usual been an eventful year not just for my family but for our country and the world. As humans, we tend to be involved in our own small corner of the universe until tragedies like the hurricanes in Florida and the recent tsunamis in Asia grab us and shake us awake to the fact that we are part of a larger family.
Having family in Florida naturally made the rash of hurricanes more personal as we sat here in Maryland hoping and praying not just for our own but for all the overburdened residents in Florida. Our family members were lucky enough to have only minor damage and inconvenience but stories of all the displaced families touched our hearts. The coming year will be a challenge of rebuilding for all those affected by the hurricanes and we wish them peace and constant help in righting their lives. And along with all the people of the world, we will grieve for those families in Asia torn apart by the forces of Nature and offer whatever we can to ease their sorrow and rebuild their countries.
The war in Iraq continues to touch many of us here in America as our young men and women put themselves in harm's way to defend our way of life. We all follow the news stories each evening and many of us know someone who is over there. As a personal note, our son-in-law who is is a Marine will be joining the other brave marines, soldiers and service people in Iraq after the first of the new year. Although we will constantly worry about his safety, we are proud of his dedication to his country and his wife and children will be held closely in a loving atmosphere awaiting his safe return. To J.P. and all the others in Iraq we wish you God Speed and we thank you for your sacrifices.
And to all my family and friends and to everyone the world over, I hope 2005 brings us the blessings of peace, joy and love for without those things we only exist rather than live.
Although my blog has taken a back seat to the holidays, this being the last day of 2004 gives me cause for reflection. It has as usual been an eventful year not just for my family but for our country and the world. As humans, we tend to be involved in our own small corner of the universe until tragedies like the hurricanes in Florida and the recent tsunamis in Asia grab us and shake us awake to the fact that we are part of a larger family.
Having family in Florida naturally made the rash of hurricanes more personal as we sat here in Maryland hoping and praying not just for our own but for all the overburdened residents in Florida. Our family members were lucky enough to have only minor damage and inconvenience but stories of all the displaced families touched our hearts. The coming year will be a challenge of rebuilding for all those affected by the hurricanes and we wish them peace and constant help in righting their lives. And along with all the people of the world, we will grieve for those families in Asia torn apart by the forces of Nature and offer whatever we can to ease their sorrow and rebuild their countries.
The war in Iraq continues to touch many of us here in America as our young men and women put themselves in harm's way to defend our way of life. We all follow the news stories each evening and many of us know someone who is over there. As a personal note, our son-in-law who is is a Marine will be joining the other brave marines, soldiers and service people in Iraq after the first of the new year. Although we will constantly worry about his safety, we are proud of his dedication to his country and his wife and children will be held closely in a loving atmosphere awaiting his safe return. To J.P. and all the others in Iraq we wish you God Speed and we thank you for your sacrifices.
And to all my family and friends and to everyone the world over, I hope 2005 brings us the blessings of peace, joy and love for without those things we only exist rather than live.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
The holiday season is in full swing. People are running around like the proverbial "busy bee", shopping, decorating, baking and of course, making the rounds of family gatherings and parties that fill the calendar from Thanksgiving until after the New Year. It seems that Thanksgiving has always been the official start of the seaon of overeating and drinking to one too many person's heath. Add to that the stress of finding the perfect gifts, baking your "homemade" cookies from scratch, hanging ornaments, stringing lights, writing cards, etc., etc. and it's no wonder that the holiday season just happens to coincide with the Holiday Heartburn Season!!
Scoff if you will, but take it from one who knows, the heartburn season is also in full swing. Having been a girl scout as a child, I pride myself on being prepared for most major problems. I keep a ready supply of headache remedies, sinus medications, bandaids and the normal assortment of antacids. You can find not only Rolaids and Gas-x in my bathroom cabinet but in my office cabinet as well. Let's face it, you never know when heartburn will strike!
Thinking I had all my bases covered, I cheerfully prepared a traditional Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey and stuffing, candied yams, gravy and all the other family favorites. The dinner was delicious and as is our usual custom, we all ate entirely too much. Everyone settled into the nearest comfortable chair lamenting that perhaps they shouldn't have eaten quite so much but boy was it good! In short order all my dinner partners had fallen asleep and I smiled knowing I had done my part in making this another great Thanksgiving. Quietly patting myself on the back, I barely noticed the slight stirrings of that holiday spoiling beast we fondly refer to as "indigestion".
Indigestion sounds like a mere inconvenience easily overcome by a couple of antacid tablets. Heartburn on the other hand is the evil cousin of indigestion causing the stomach to boil and burn and the sufferer to run to the medicine cabinet, chugging Maalox and Pepto-Bismol in hopes of dousing the flames. Watching my dozing family, I began to get that old familiar feeling...uh-oh. Trying not to wake anyone I quickly headed for my supply of stomach-calmers. OK, start with a couple of Rolaids, followed by one Gas-x and hope the beast will retreat. All seemed well as my family slowly began waking up.
As they yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed and just a little less full, someone casually mentioned dessert. The thought of ingesting one more morsel of food sent my stomach into spasms and my smile was just a little strained as I inquired if anyone had brought dessert. The negative shaking of heads was just the trick to once more settle my innards back into the indigestion stage. Shortly thereafter I kissed my departing guests goodbye and changed into my comfy clothes...you know, the ones that actually let you breathe.
Dressing for work the next day, I continued to feel as if I had just consumed a small elephant and vowed never to eat again. I opened the drawer in my vanity to reach for my Prilosec, the consistent savior for stomach maladies and reeled in shock. Not only was there none in the drawer, but when I checked the shelf in the laundry room for my reserve supply, the beginnings of a tear formed in my eye. How could this have happened?? Some girl scout...hmpff!
Leaving work, I stopped at the local Giant to renew my supply of Prilosec, only to be greeted with a large empty space on the shelf. Undaunted I headed for the CVS certain I would be rewarded. Again a large empty space. It just couldn't be!! Dejected I arrived home wondering if perhaps Prilosec had been recalled and I just hadn't gotten the memo. Internet research revealed the unpleasant truth....Prilosec was on back order from the manufacturer. Had I known there was a shortage I could have stocked up........there was so much in the news about the flu shot shortage but not one peep about the Prilosec situation!!
So you see, the Holiday Heartburn season is in full swing and those luckier than I have scarfed up most of the available Prilosec stock leaving others to suffer. Although I spent several unpleasant days mourning my bad luck, I admit to not feeling the smallest twinge of guilt when I finally found the very last package of Prilosec on the store shelf and, holding it like a prized posession, sprinted to the nearest self-checkout.
Scoff if you will, but take it from one who knows, the heartburn season is also in full swing. Having been a girl scout as a child, I pride myself on being prepared for most major problems. I keep a ready supply of headache remedies, sinus medications, bandaids and the normal assortment of antacids. You can find not only Rolaids and Gas-x in my bathroom cabinet but in my office cabinet as well. Let's face it, you never know when heartburn will strike!
Thinking I had all my bases covered, I cheerfully prepared a traditional Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey and stuffing, candied yams, gravy and all the other family favorites. The dinner was delicious and as is our usual custom, we all ate entirely too much. Everyone settled into the nearest comfortable chair lamenting that perhaps they shouldn't have eaten quite so much but boy was it good! In short order all my dinner partners had fallen asleep and I smiled knowing I had done my part in making this another great Thanksgiving. Quietly patting myself on the back, I barely noticed the slight stirrings of that holiday spoiling beast we fondly refer to as "indigestion".
Indigestion sounds like a mere inconvenience easily overcome by a couple of antacid tablets. Heartburn on the other hand is the evil cousin of indigestion causing the stomach to boil and burn and the sufferer to run to the medicine cabinet, chugging Maalox and Pepto-Bismol in hopes of dousing the flames. Watching my dozing family, I began to get that old familiar feeling...uh-oh. Trying not to wake anyone I quickly headed for my supply of stomach-calmers. OK, start with a couple of Rolaids, followed by one Gas-x and hope the beast will retreat. All seemed well as my family slowly began waking up.
As they yawned and stretched, feeling refreshed and just a little less full, someone casually mentioned dessert. The thought of ingesting one more morsel of food sent my stomach into spasms and my smile was just a little strained as I inquired if anyone had brought dessert. The negative shaking of heads was just the trick to once more settle my innards back into the indigestion stage. Shortly thereafter I kissed my departing guests goodbye and changed into my comfy clothes...you know, the ones that actually let you breathe.
Dressing for work the next day, I continued to feel as if I had just consumed a small elephant and vowed never to eat again. I opened the drawer in my vanity to reach for my Prilosec, the consistent savior for stomach maladies and reeled in shock. Not only was there none in the drawer, but when I checked the shelf in the laundry room for my reserve supply, the beginnings of a tear formed in my eye. How could this have happened?? Some girl scout...hmpff!
Leaving work, I stopped at the local Giant to renew my supply of Prilosec, only to be greeted with a large empty space on the shelf. Undaunted I headed for the CVS certain I would be rewarded. Again a large empty space. It just couldn't be!! Dejected I arrived home wondering if perhaps Prilosec had been recalled and I just hadn't gotten the memo. Internet research revealed the unpleasant truth....Prilosec was on back order from the manufacturer. Had I known there was a shortage I could have stocked up........there was so much in the news about the flu shot shortage but not one peep about the Prilosec situation!!
So you see, the Holiday Heartburn season is in full swing and those luckier than I have scarfed up most of the available Prilosec stock leaving others to suffer. Although I spent several unpleasant days mourning my bad luck, I admit to not feeling the smallest twinge of guilt when I finally found the very last package of Prilosec on the store shelf and, holding it like a prized posession, sprinted to the nearest self-checkout.
