Sunday, May 7, 2017

Your Dying Spouse 307 - I'm Still Useful, But...

This will be another short post as I am feeling pretty awful...though I have a good reason. Had to move and fix - at least temporarily - the refrigerator. The evap motor still needs to be changed out.

There was a time when this would have been a trifling episode in a day, and moving the refrigerator itself would have been easy.

Now, it was an achievement - and I'm glad I did it - but it has wiped me out.

It's tempting to look a this and bemoan how far I have fallen.

Or I can take some pleasure in that which I can still accomplish, albeit at some cost.

I think the latter is healthier, don't you?

Still, I think I'll let Barbara replace the motor. I'll cheer from the sidelines.

And now, in the spirit of the day, over to The Traveling Wilburys and Handle With Care





A bit of news..."Blessed Are The Pure Of Heart" has come home! Tate Publishing has gone south, and I regained the rights, so it'll soon be available in both Kindle hardcopy versions once again. In the meantime, if you absolutely can't wait (!), you can still get used copies from Amazon.


I have another blog, "Starting The Day With Grace". The focus is a grace quote from someone you might not expect (like, say Mick Jagger) and a short commentary. I hope you'll join me.



Marley update... been moved to a sanctuary, and Bay County will revise their 'dangerous dog' codes.

WE MADE A DIFFERENCE!

And marley has a Facebook page! Please drop by to see how happy he is today.


If you can, please do leave a comment. I am trying to answer all, and I am failing, but please know this - I read and treasure each one.

Below are my recent releases on Kindle -please excuse their presence in the body of the blog. I haven't the energy to get them up as 'buttons' in the sidebar. You can click on the covers to go to the Amazon links.






16 comments:

  1. Well, I'm amazed at your particular gifting, Andrew, because at no time in my life could I have moved a refrigerator AND done anything helpful to it once it was moved (except maybe clean it . . .).
    And now, you've taken it one step further and encouraged your readers with the feat. Pretty good day's work.

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    1. Michele, thank you so much! I have to confess that I don't really KNOW what I'm doing...but I've been able, by God's Grace, to keep the refrigerator and dryer running, by fixing and replacing the bits that seem to be troublesome. The hardest step is finding the courage to look inside the guts of the thing.

      Thanks so much for being here!

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  2. Thank you, Andrew, for continuing to reach out and bless others despite your circumstances. It reminds me to be grateful in the storm, and to keep moving ahead. Blessings for this day's steps.

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    1. Alice, thank YOU for this lovely, encouraging comment I'm truly grateful. Blessing back!

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  3. You keep achieving, hour by hour, day by day. You model for us how to do the race when there's no strength left. You are a strong legacy-leaver, friend.

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    1. Linda, I don't know what to say, except for a heartfelt and deep Thank You.

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  4. Yay for you! The last time I moved a refrigerator, there was a shriveled, dead mouse under it... You ARE useful and needed--never forget that!

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    1. Thanks, Anita! And I did find a mummified mouse under ours. Yuck.

      Better it was me, though. Barb hates mice, and I will NEVER take her to Disneyland.

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  5. Woo!
    You're still moving refrigerators? That's definitely faith greater than a mustard seed, Andrew.
    I am delighted to see you working with Barbara and being a gentleman and letting her change the motor. :)
    I actually have a small satisfaction of moving our refrigerator every 6 months and vacuuming the coils out. (My dad taught me some of the basics. He did small appliance repair before moving on to the commercial side of it. He's still pretty amazing. I can repair, but diagnostics aren't my strength.)

    You have SO much value still. Keep fighting, friend!
    Love,
    Tammy

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    1. Tammy, yeah, I did move it...but it did hurt. A lot. And I am more than happy to hand the rest of the repairs over to Barb. (Even in my current state I am a LOT bigger than she is, and have some physical strength left to use.)

      I never really understood appliances, and would not know which way a volt was facing if I found one. That is why B the electronics genius will replace the motor.

      I'll keep fighting. It's kind of fun, to see how far I can still push it.

      Love back, from all of us.

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  6. Andrew, you continue to amaze me. I can hardly move a refrigerator and I'm not dealing with the debilitating things you are. And that you can let Barbara replace the motor. Good for you. :)

    And your perspective? GOOD. Healthy. I loved this: "I can take some pleasure in that which I can still accomplish, albeit at some cost."

    Thank you, friend, for your reality-lace words of hope.

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    1. Jeanne, thank you so much for these kind and loving words...they are a boon, blessing, and encouragement.

      One of the best things I've learned from illness - a blessing - is to let Barbara shine in her areas of expertise. I am still big enough and have the leverage to move the fridge, but she will do much better with the detail work.

      I'm so appreciative of your presence here today!

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  7. Oh Andrew! I just came over from Theresa's blog that talked about the mothering instinct and this post has brought out mine! I realize that you still want to be useful and this was a time when you could be. I totally get that. And I think there's something in men that is just as strong as a woman's mothering instinct--to protect and provide no matter how broken their--and your--bodies are. I'm just glad you didn't hurt yourself in some way. That just goes to show how strong you are, but I would love it if you'd save your strength for here--where you are more than useful, my friend!

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    1. Beth, you're absolutely right. It is a strong, and God-given instinct, and it does mean a lot to one's self-definition. But you're right...it is time to save strength, for where it can best be used for the most good.

      Thanks so much for being here!

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  8. And, you can still cut hair.

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