THROUGH
MOUNTAIN MISTS
Early Settlers of
Their
Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements
Lifting the
Mists of History on Their Way of Life
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones
Welcome Back
The phrase "time-out" according
to Webster's Dictionary was coined in 1926 and is a noun meaning a
brief
suspension of activity; a break; and especially a suspension of play in
an
athletic game.
Time Outs, according to the
definition, are
usually planned periods in which, in a football game or other sport,
for
example, a team reconsiders maneuvers and talks about alternate plans
that
might thwart the opponent's play.
When my children were young and
being
disciplined for some infraction of the rules of good behavior, they
didn't like
"time out." It kept them from interesting activities they wanted to
continue. But the time out proved worthy as a means of teaching
discipline and
thinking before overtly acting.
There is another kind of "time
out"- unplanned and unexpected--that occurs without warning or
preparation.
I've come trough several weeks of time out because of the necessity for
five
coronary bypasses heart surgery on August 30. I was given little notice
to
prepare for the time out or to make arrangements. These major
"time-outs," or interruptions to the usual life schedule, can be a
catastrophe or a challenge, depending largely on the patient's
attitude.
In the many cards from friends
and
relatives was one recurring theme, "You shocked us! We didn't know you
had
heart difficulties!" Imagine how the "shock" hit me when the
cardiologist made arrangements for me to enter the hospital on August
28 and I
was not released until after the whole process was over (except the
recuperation) on September 6.
Members of my family were away
on vacation.
I have my wonderful granddaughter Crystal Berenguer Diaz to thank for
taking
charge like a responsible adult (which she is) and doing what had to be
done to
get me to the hospital, get papers signed, and keeping vigil until some
of the
other family members returned from far-flung places.
To her I am most grateful. I
don't remember
a lot of what happened for several days. I know I had great faith and I
was
unafraid. I knew, like the Apostle Paul, whether I lived or died, it
would be
gain.
The timing was good, even though
some
family members were not present for the big surgery. My husband,
Grover, was in
good hands at the Georgia War Veterans' Home Memory Support Unit in
Milledgeville, and I knew he was being well cared for while I was in
the
hospital and incapacitated. Even a small challenge with his health a
few days
after I returned home from the hospital when I was still not able to
visit him
was handled with finesse. He had some sort of attack which the doctor
and nurse
thought might be a stroke, so he was taken by ambulance to
The hardest thing during my own
recuperation period was not being able to be by his side or help him.
"Time out" covers many aspects of life and caregiving and we must be
willing to go with the punches.
One of the things I've missed
during this
almost four weeks "time out" has been writing my weekly column.
Several have begged me to give this up completely, saying "think about
yourself and your health." But actually, I enjoy doing this column. It
is
a bright spot in my week, a means of therapy, of challenge. Please
excuse this
feeble attempt to talk about taking unexpected time out from regular
routines.
But there's something to be said of resiliency, of looking forward to
what one
likes to do, of being restored to health. And that's the journey I'm
on. I'm
making remarkable progress. So said Dr. Wanna in my postoperative
examination
on September 18!
Know that I appreciate deeply
all your
expressions of concern, your sincere prayers on my behalf, and your
statements
of "missing the Jones column." My illness has not been a time out
from words; just a time to recover enough to be able to sit before a
computer
screen and let thoughts flow. Thank you. And whatever is a challenge to
you,
don't be afraid of a time out. Sometimes your body demands it…and needs
it!
(Thank you for allowing me to
indulge in
this personal account that has been so much a part of my life for four
weeks
now.)
c2007 by
Ethelene Dyer
Jones; published Sept. 20, 2007 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville,
GA.
Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
[Ethelene Dyer
Jones is a retired educator,
freelance writer, poet, and historian. She may be reached at
e-mail edj0513@windstream.net;
phone 478-453-8751; or mail 1708 Cedarwood Road, Milledgeville, GA
31061-2411.]
Updated August 9,
2009
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