Anniversary

Ocala, Florida

Weather: low 74 degrees, high 89 degrees, cloudy, showers

It rained all night, and has been raining intermittently all evening today. At least the rain is helping keep temperatures down to a reasonable level.

Last night was my first night home after the hospital stay, and I had a lot of problems sleeping. My respiratory issues are getting better, but when I try to sleep lying flat, I still feel as though I'm smothering. The doctors say that symptom should get better as my lungs heal.

With my problems breathing, I didn't get to sleep until about 0500 hours this morning, and managed to sleep until about 0800 hours. Carolyn got up about 0300 hours and kept me company. When I was finally able to sleep, she got a few more hours. It was a heck of a way for us to start another year of marriage.

That's right, today is our anniversary. Forty seven years and counting. I had made plans for it to be a special day for us, but sometimes the best laid plans get sidetracked. It was still a special day for us, but I would have liked to take Carolyn out to eat. With the restrictions I have on my diet, it's a little difficult to find anything on a restaurant menu that I can eat. Carolyn is understanding about the situation. I'll make it up to her when the doctors loosen my restrictions. Believe me, I'm going to do whatever they say in an effort to get over this mess.

We had very little food in the RV that fit what I am restricted to, so a visit to the WalMart Mall was in order. The advice given to me when I left the hospital was to read labels for sodium content, and stay away from prepared foods. We had never looked at labels for that particular component of the food, and were amazed at how much sodium is present in most foods in the grocery store. The government recommends limiting sodium to 2500 milligrams or less. I've been advised to keep my sodium intake as low as possible. This is going to be continuous exercise in counting the bad stuff in food, and trying to find food that is low in sodium. Fun, fun, fun.

After about two hours of going up and down aisles and reading labels, we had enough food to prepare meals for several days. Since it is our anniversary, we picked up a nice steak and salad fixings, along with some baking potatoes. All of that food came to zero sodium, so I think we did well. The food was pretty good, even without a lot of sodium.

After we got home and put up the groceries, I was able to actually take a nap for one of the few times that I've done that in the daytime. I know I've talked about doing meditation in the past, but that's a far cry from sleeping. Maybe I'll be able to take another nap tomorrow.

More later, be safe.

Today's Town - Hot Springs, Arkansas: Government At Your Service

Not all who wander are lost.