HostAsha

Lynn: thanks for updating your blog I was wondering about you. one thing is very important trying to control your expenses whenever you feel like you want to buy something, ask yourself do you need this item, that way you will realize & spend only on things you need & not want. since credit card bills is you still have to pay mabye not right away but still need to play, there is no point in paying high interest rates on your credit card. Asha

Fred: wow thats hot, hopefully you are staying inside & cool. When temp hit 90 I go in our basement. Its much cooler there. Asha

Fred: funny, though I bet people left behind to miss us won't like this early departure strategy. Asha

Sue: My heart breaks for you, you both are in my thoughts and prayers. I agree with Sarah if you decide to keep ray in hursing home your role does not change you will be still his caregiver only hands off this time, since you can't do heavy lifting anymore. I hope you will be able to consult with your family & will make decision which will work well for all of you. Asha

h christian: welcome to wonderful world of blogging. I stroked at age 34 which left me paralysed on my left side & retired me from the job I loved. first year is the hardest emotionally though physically you will see lot of gain during this time frame, harder you work in your recovery right now easier it will get to adapt to your new normal. I feel atroke changed my life, though my life is still good just little different on how I achieve my daily living. I have found blogging & chatting with other survivors therputetic for my soul, it has help me deal with my new reality much better. hope to see you around more often. Asha

Fred: I am glad you love people watching & going to mall. In India now with economy booming lot of malls has sprung up & what I hear from family there, that lot of time people just go to mall to cool down & not shop lol. hubby & I hate going to mall. we go to store if we need to buy something but never to just hang out in mall. My sister loves window shopping & bargain hunting in the mall & department stores. I am more like my dad go to the store if we need somethng. Asha

I am so fortunate & lucky to be married to my soulmate & love of my life by sheer great luck. I know prestroke I was too blind & arrogant to realize that, but post stroke I am realizing how lucky I have got. my weak point is I never notice small things which gets done automatically without me doing anything about it like garbage done emptying, many small things around the house which does not even come under my radar. For me life runs smoothly since husband fairy does everything I miss lol. recently I had my stress test & it came abnormal & since I have history of stroke my cardiologist was more proactive & ordered heart catherization to make sure all my heart arteries are free of plaque. ofcourse when I read more about it online I was scared of the procedure, I didn't realize hubby was also scared of it. I made sure the previous day all my chores were taken care of & told him about things I usually take care around the house & made him aware of all kido's activities of the summer. One would think the way I was telling him things that I might never come home, procedure was done on wednesday & all my arteries in good condition no plumbing needed there, so now just have to rest for couple of days till my wrist heals from the puncture site. I was laughing & telling hubby how scared I was & he said sweetest thing to me he said I would have died had anything happened to you on surgery day. he had gone to temple just day earlier for my safety. I am in cloud nine since he said, since he shows his love through actions & not words, so its big deal that he told me this. I love him so much & I m so lucky to have him in my life. Asha

Lydia: we all were missing you in our afternoon chats. acceptance to newnormal is sometimes daily struggle. I understand your frustrations like rest of your family. Sometimes we all feel so helpless when you can't help your friend or family member. I guess only thing we can do is pray for your strength to get through this new hurdle in your life. when things become difficult I remember only thing certain in life is change. when things seems worst, only way it will go now is to improve. just have faith & hang in there. come &vent here when you feel frustrated such that family is spared lol hugs, Asha

Sue: I am so happy that Ray is out of danger & at better place now, hopefully soon he will be home with you & enjoying life again. Please take care of yourself. I am sure you both have lot to look forward to now that Trev is getting married. Asha

Katrina: :congrats: from your blog I can see perseverence pays up. God always puts wall in our path, they are not there to stop us but there to see how badly we want things. If you want bad enough then you will work hard enough to get what you want. I am so glad you never gave up & kept on trying. Asha

Fred: enjoy your short trip & casino. I love weekend getaway it breaks monotony of life. have great fathers day. we are going out to temple for fathers day. Asha

Lydia: I was expecting to see you in our afternoon chat but I guess you slept with Mon & missed us. enjoy your retirement. just flow with life no point in resisting where the life flow will take you it will so enjoy the ride. Asha

I know I complain abut our son, there are times when he makes me very angry, but also there are times when he makes us very happy. Just few days ago we get letter from school saying please attend award ceremony since our son has been awarded some awards during his middle school graduation. I try to find from him but ofcourse he has no idea why & what awards he is getting. So finally yesterday when we attented award ceremony with other parents. all the kids were on stage & parents in auditorium. you should see joy in that hall. our son got presidential & honor roll award for his academic performance. we live in great neigbhourhood where parents are very involve with the school district, and you can see so many kids doing so well in studies,art & atheletics.It makes you believe that parents & school district working together makes great kids. We are so proud of our son. I am so greatful to survive & beat this stroke to enjoy this joyous moments in our life. ok now I will get off my brag box lol Asha

hey Lydia: I can understand your feelings, but now the new chapter of your life begins & who to say it won't be much more fun than your last chapter. I look forward to meeting you in our afternoon chat. hugs, Asha

Sue: thanks for update on Ray. I always marvel at caregivers strength to go through this tough battle for their survivor, you & my hubby I admire the most. please do not feel guilty about DNR order. as a survivor Ray won't wish to stay in vegatative state. so you are doing right decision for both of you. please update as soon as you can about how things are with Ray, till then you both will be in my thoughts and prayers. Asha Asha

Julie: I am sure you are going to have good time attending concert. I love these small breaks on weekends it breaks monotony of life. Asha

Fred: I am so excited that now you will be posting your humor & inspirational stories here in blog forum. I miss forums all the time, but not blogs, so as I see it, It is big advantage for me lucky me. please keep on coming with your humorous blogs & my spiritual blogs we will keep our blogworld interesting & entertaining. Asha

Lavena: wow in one month so much has happened. I hope in your new independent life you keep us updated more often. congratulations on your graduation & getting admission into TSU. I am happy that you will be helping mom whenever she ask for it. Maybe streamlining her bill payments to direct payment will make your life easy Asha

Lydia: I am glad you are taking early retirement aka laid off, It helps to have great family and friends support around you. Enjoy your early retirement. remember you have worked hard for it. hopefully you will make sure to come & join us in our afternoon & evening chats to spend time together. after retirement life will be just different. take it one day at a time. Asha

Lydia: I am so happy for you the way you are getting ready for your retirement. I know you will do great in your retirement since you already know what matters to you the most. I found it hard way how much my selfworth was associated with what kind of job I had. I guess I was proud of my education & comfort of material things my working brought.So I know I have told you many times but I don't want any of my friends here at SN also go through depression I went through. hugs, Asha

Debbie: I am so happy that you have such great loving relationship with your sister. having great support system does lighten load of this stroke journey. Asha

hey Orianna: great blog. I learnt few things from this blog. I also have hearing problem in my left ear.the problem is my hearing is fine, but I can never identify where the sound is coming from, is it from above, below,left or right. I can never figure that out.so if I am calling my family & they answer back, I can never tell where exctly sound came from. can you suggest any therapy I can try to fix that problem Asha

Fred: such a great story & great kid, this adversity at such a young age has made the kid kind,compassionate & better person. I am sure he will do great in his life. Asha

I am slowly & ateadily learning how to be happy at all times in my life. Just yesterday had another AHA moment. I know I have had lot of unhappy moments when I have expectation from others specially from my teenage son, and ofcourse you don't get any from teenagers & that used to cause me moments of unhappiness. Though slowly I have realized if I do things for him because it brings me happiness then when he forgets to be thankful to his mom since he is busy playing with his friends, it does not make me angry & still feel happy because I know I am doing right things. now I understand one of the greatest teaching of bhagvad-gita."do your duties correctly & don't expect any thanks in return". do those duties because thats what your job is, and as a mother my job is to make sure our son is well looked after & well cared for & do what is required without any thank yous. just had this realization after when I received his call to bring water to him to his play area. Ofcourse I was happy to oblige since I want him to have fun with his friends though I had prepped myself that he will be too busy playing to come out & say thanks. Ofcourse thats exactly what happened but since I had expected that & had no expectations of any thank yous, it did not bother me much, I know in past it has made me angry. So by just not having expectations from him I saved myself from all the unhappiness. one of my friend once said being parent is such a thankless job, but I think being parent is you have to do things for your kids because that is what bringing you happiness & not their thanks. your thank you comes after 20 years when you see them fully settled happy & contributing member of society. thats when you know you have done good job in raising your kids Asha

hey oldman: I didn't ask that question, but I have same issue with my hubby, he never shares his emotions though I don't consider him as my caregiver at this moment in our life. yes he was in the begining but not any more. but I get it now. thanks, Asha