I had definite plans to attend Shorewood’s annual Harvest Banquet this evening (with an expected crowd at the church building of 140!) but this day didn’t turn out well. First of all, I didn’t get any quality sleep last night (I’ve had debilitating insomnia for a solid year now and it’s only gotten worse with time, no matter how bad of a sleep deficit I’ve accumulate!).
Then I had to get up at the crack of dawn for a day of mandatory volunteering with my non-profit organization’s staff and board of directors on the south side of Chicago. Among other things, my group “weather-proofed” the old home of a low-income senior who lives alone at 87th and Hermitage. It was a lot of standing on a ladder in awkward positions and hammering up plastic “kits” over windows where the sun was beating in so blindingly I literally had to guess at times where to carefully line up the frame strips!
For our late lunch on the way home, we hit a popular soul food spot on 79th and Racine and I had the $5.99 special of deep-fried catfish and mac and cheese, both of which were so heavily oil-laden they gave me diarrhea and a bad stomach later on. Hence, I didn’t feel in any shape for the banquet at 5:30 p.m. I’m just glad I’m now feeling better for church tomorrow!
Health wise, this has been a very stressful week for me. I even made an appointment on Monday with my doc (earliest opening he had was for this Tuesday morning) because I’ve been so unnerved by the symptoms caused from my fragile nerves ( a genetic problem on my dad’s side that was always an issue for him, my sister and continues to be one for me—dating back to age 6!).
After telling a elderly deaf resident (a Christian who actually wears around some of my old Smoky Mountains Bible Conference tees with the chart on the back!) this past Wednesday of the decision to transfer her, there has been outcry from a local social services agency that has worked with her for 17 years and I have to now “prove” my case in a big meeting Monday where one social worker (also deaf), on behalf of her client, is refuting my testimony regarding recent behaviors of the resident that warrant her loss of housing. This is on top of the client expressing suicidal desires!
Fortunately, a top-level woman with CJE (Council for Jewish Elderly) will attend, and as she told me on the phone Friday afternoon, it appears to her I’ve “gone above and beyond” in handling the resident’s issues (something I know I have done with fairness and a very forgiving nature with sisterly love in Christ for her).
I know my blood pressure is often higher than it should be and I’ve been told to lose weight and exercise to get it down. Obviously, the soul food was no help, but there was NOTHING remotely health-conscious on their menu! I have been dieting overall and it makes my nerves and insomnia worse when I don’t eat much or eat very low fat.
For the record, I’ve severely limited my caffeine consumption and don’t consume ANY alcohol any longer. I’ve never been one to want to resort to drugs (especially having grown up witnessing my dad’s long-term habits with prescription pills). I do take over-the-counter stuff at times for my insomnia but it doesn’t even work very well!
Oh, well, I heard Andy Rooney did finally die today. That’s what I need to keep ever-present: the fact that this life will be over as a vapor and only what’s done for Christ will last.
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