Debbie Cribb Owens

Once again, I face the #vespertine question. Will my father settle in comfortably, or does he have day confused with night again? So many times, I have watched him sleep away the daylight hours then rouse and become needy when the sun goes down.
#vss365

He used to be #chivalrous
Generous
Kind
At some point
His consideration
Dropped by the
Wayside
She was moved from
The foreground
To the background
Of his life
Another piece
Of the furniture
Taken for granted
Just a wife
#vss365

Remember when photos
Were developed in #aphotic chambers
With toxic, noxious chemicals
Remember when a conversation
With a loved one far away
Tied you to a telephone
Attached to a wall
With long distance charges rolling
Remember what miracles they were
#vss365

Sometimes, she would play up her redneck origins in jest, pronouncing #suave and debonnaire as swave and deboner. It was good, she believed, to remember where she started so she could appreciate how far she had come.
#vss365

It can't #last. Everything, good and bad, has a beginning and an end. Maudie has to remind herself of that, especially during the holidays. It gets her through the chaos and reminds her to cherish the beautiful moments when they come.
#vss365

What #matters now is that he's as comfortable as possible and that he doesn't feel lonely. He's not always sure where he is or who is around him, but he still has moments of clarity. He still worries about inconsequential things.
#vss365

As I seek the benefits of smaller meals and regular exercise, my father's #health continues to decline. His good days come less frequently. Watching his slow withdrawal from my life is hard, but it's a duty I see as sacred. I just don't look past today.
#vss365

She had a knack for #learning. All she had to do was pay attention and the information would attach itself and stay. Her only problem was paying attention when the subject held no interest for her. College required that she finally learn how to study.
#vss365

#Reflection and renewal
Remembering fondly
What has passed
Letting go of those things
That do not reflect well
To make room for what will
#vss365

Tuesday before
Thanksgiving
Preparations
Underway
Cooking, cleaning
Laundry, too
Getting ready
For the day
Recipes from
Grandparents
Some creative
Others #timed
Traditions
Culinary
Shared with those whose
Hearts align
#vss365

What worried me
And made me fret
In my twenties
I find are now
Not #relevant
They seem petty
Small, out of date
And so I try
To remember
What seeks to vex
Me now, today
Will one day feel
As trivial
As those old woes
And go my way
#vss365

It's amazing what becomes #achievable once you decide that it is. Dreams become goals. Yesterday's goals are today's reality. Tomorrow is determined by what you believe today.
#vss365

My fitness progress is #measurable over time. Clothes that used to fit fine are now much too baggy. The scales move more slowly, but I have been steadily building muscle, which weighs more. A1C levels have fallen. So far, so good.
#vss365

I can no longer set daily goals for my father. His condition varies from day to day. But I intentionally set #specific goals for myself. It would be too easy to get bogged down, mentally and physically, without some sense of structure and attainment.
#vss365

Jerry Seinfeld says that men don't view #action heroes as fantasy figures, but as options. His proof is the guy who rides with a mattress tied down to the roof of his car and his arm out the window holding the mattress, as if he is what will keep it from falling off.
#vss365

Life is filled with #options. We may not like them, but they are there, nonetheless. Options lead to outcomes. Some feel successful, others regretful. What matters is how we react and what we do next. Choosing not to act is an option with its own set of consequences.
#vss365

Always wishing
Life were better
Kinder fairer
Different
Kept me bitter
Satisfaction
Just beyond my
Fingertips
Finally I
Let it all go
#Reality
I embraced
Found the beauty
In this moment
After all it's
All I have
#vss365

I first came here to ensure my father didn't wreck his kidneys with too much sugar and salt. Medical personnel told me I was keeping him alive. The #goal has changed with time. Now I keep watch and try to give him dignity and comfort. Every day, the roulette wheel turns.
#vss365

When presented with the #issue
She had need of a tissue
For joy can bring on tears
Just as well as griefs and fears
And though her smile did shine
Those tears did trace a line
Down the side of her face
She let them fall with grace
#vss365

The cost to #transport my bedridden father is prohibitive for all but emergencies. There are procedures that might give him benefit, but not with the disruption of getting him to the facility, which would stress him unduly, never mind the cost. It is frustrating.
#vss365

#Science was my weakest subject when tested for aptitude before college. To my perverse way of thinking, that meant I needed to concentrate on the sciences to be a more well-rounded person. That's how the former English major became a chemist.
#vss365

I see the #number on my phone attached to a name I don't recognize. A past caregiver that I've somehow forgotten? Someone from the VA who was important enough to add as contact? The voice at the other end is friendly but abrupt. It's time, Debbie. Begin to let go.
#vss365

Thanks, DeRicki!

My first love, I eventually learned, was a #myth I had created to attach to a man who was in almost every way wrong for me, as I was for him. Cutting ties was painful. I had invested such misplaced hope in us. Now I know I avoided true heartbreak.
#vss365

#Measure
Cut
Sew
Necessary skills
For a short person
Hemming pants
That are always
Too long when new
A good tailor
A treasure to know
#vss365

My people
The writers
Who take an idea
And turn it into
#Literature
To share with others
A meeting of minds
Where author and reader
Contribute together
No two alliances
Exactly the same
Both necessary
For the magic to unfold
#vss365

Looney Tunes characters hover in mid-air because they've never studied #law. My father always told me that ignorance of the law is no excuse. Turns out he was right, and I had the skinned knees to prove it.
#vss365

Humanity's
Most important
Innovation:
#Language
Without it
Cooperation
Would be more
Haphazard
History
Would be lost
Essentially
No love songs
No poetry
How frustrating
It must have been
For our more
Primitive selves
Language
Had to occur
To make us
Who we are
#vss365

Two strangers with a shared #history, some good, some painful. The early years were wonderful, but little by little, small poisons came between them. Differing opinions became points of contention. After a time, the good they had shared faded into obscurity.
#vss365

Eighth grade #geography was taught by default. The instructor didn't want to be there any more than her students did. All went through the motions. Little was actually learned or understood.
#vss365