Wednesday Wondering

I have an appointment with the shoulder doc next Monday, the 16th, and I'm contemplating on whether or not to cancel. The shoulder has improved a lot since our last visit which means he will spend about forty-five seconds with me and charge me around $100. That is what I will pay out of pocket. This is just one reason I rarely go the the doctor, but of late I have gone a lot. Yesterday, one of my co-workers was counseling me to visit yet another physician.  But I'm getting a little tired of shelling out all this cash. I don't have much of that anyway.

Yesterday I received a bill from the hospital for the sonogram I had to try to see if something was wrong with my carotid artery. I looked in the mirror one morning and saw it about to beat out of my neck. To make a short story long, the bill the hospital mailed me was for the exact amount of my wife's truck payment. Since I payed her vehicle off in September, I was hoping to have a few dollars left in the bank at the end of this month. It's not going to happen. When will God rebuke the devourer? Enough of that, but I need to make a decision on the orthopedist. The yo yo I wrote about yesterday has hit the bottom and come half way back up since then. Will I make a full recovery? Will I need this visit to secure an MRI if I fail to fully heal?

Amazingly, when I went to the pool yesterday, the water was 80 degrees. This confuses me. Tuesday it was 76 and the overnight low was 59. How did it climb when the weather was cool all day? It was sunny which allowed the full measure of any warmth we had. Normally, however, the water temp can't climb much this time of year because the nights are so long and getting longer while the lows creep downward. Tuesday, I felt the water was warmer than the thermometer said, but how could it have been wrong then and right now? I don't know but what I do know is that I am enjoying the unseasonably warm temps and the comfortable water that goes along with it.

I swam 2,500 meters and decided to tap out before anything could feel bad. Then I went to Mom's. She was asleep. My sister always says wake her. The sitters always say wake her. I did not wake her, but even watching her sleep, she did not look good. She has gone downhill a lot in the past few months. Please pray for her.

At home, I decided to hang out with the dogs at Plate City. On the bench, I pushed

20 X 50
15 X 60
12 X 65
10 X 70

I still feel something slightly negative in that shoulder. while doing a bench press, especially on the first set. It is not pain. Mild discomfort would be an apt description of it. Looking back, however, it is way better than it was even two weeks ago when I was pushing the bar alone with more than mild discomfort.

I also did some seated rows and lateral raises. I did my band stuff, the homework the therapists orders, during the day at school. I have the band with me now and will again to all my internal and external rotations and other stuff this morning and then I hope to swim this afternoon. The nightly low hit 52. What will the thermometer say today? I also plan to do some more weightlifting after the swim. The dogs love it when I am out there. They are both extremely jealous of each other so I can't pet one more than his partner. They, like the cats, give me great joy. I enjoy their love, attention, and energy. Thanks be to God who blesses us with the love of friends and family and animals.