Run, Read, Reed, Repeat.

i realized that i only post when i do something out of the ordinary so i thought i'd shed a little light on what my life is actually like. here's a daily rundown for ya:

i usually wake up at around 10:30 every morning and wonder why i'm awake and then try to get in at least another half hour of blessed sleeping time. sometimes i fall back asleep for another hour or so and sometimes i just lay in my bed wishing i was still sleeping.

first thing's first, say my prayers then put on my running shorts, shoes, watch and i'm out the door. i drive in my cute car, kevin (the name needs to change, she's actually a girl but it'll do for now), over to Dean Park which turns out to be one of my grandma eldredge's favorite places from when she was little! i run my little heart out for however long i please and then allow myself to be swallowed up in my own thoughts as i sit on the hill next to the pond. i spend as much time there as possible. i love to sit and feel the breeze off of the water and watch all the geese fly around. oh, side note: the other day as i was sitting, i watched this mom take her son, bread bag in hand, to feed the geese. they each threw one piece of bread and the whole flock of geese started chasing after them and the mom ran away like a little girl, leaving her poor son behind to be mauled by the geese haha. anyway, there are a lot of people at the park around this time. it's like the whole town decided they were going to meet up there for their lunch break. the plumber and the mail man even park their trucks there for a while each day. it's kinda like a little park partay.

once i've thoroughly enjoyed my stay at the park, i have two options. one, go home. two, go to the library or find some other way to get out of going home. i generally choose option two. i spend a lot of time at the library. sometimes i go get a book from the library and then go back to the park to read there. other ways i spend my alone time are by meandering around wal mart by myself or taking myself on a historic tour of Shrewsbury or making unnecessary trips to the bank or post office (i still only know my way to a couple of places. i'm working on it).

when my few hours of freedom are over, i slowly make my way back to wiles farm road where i can find my lovely abode (haha rhyme). sometimes i leave enough time to take a shower. sometimes i don't. reed can't smell so i usually don't worry about my body odor that often. i kind of enjoy being dirty and sweaty.

the rest of the day is usually filled with hanging out with reed. i love to hang out with him. he's super smart and funny and we get along most the time. we usually watch tv or work on selling things on ebay. but sometimes, reed gets really sick and tired and he sleeps all day long. when it's one of those days, i usually spend my time writing or reading. if the nurse forgot, i give reed his 3 o'clock meds through his g-tube while he sleeps. the next nurse comes at dinner time and she feeds him while we all watch Wheel-of-Fortune and Jeopardy. we never miss a day. sometimes we play a game together but usually we just watch more tv. our favorite things to watch are sports or the history or discovery channel. reed retains just about everything he hears and sees so he knows so much from watching all those shows all the time. most of it just blows over my head.

reed usually gets in bed around 10 and i help get him into his lift and onto his bed. then we (the nurse and i) get him undressed and ready for the night. i change his leg bad and get the breathing treatment set up and take care of the laundry while the nurse does her thing. we usually give reed a suction, where we help him cough and get the mucus out of his lungs, about three times while the nurse is here.

after that, i pretty much just sit around and wait till reed needs me. when the nurse leaves i like to go hang out in his room with him. sometimes we just watch more tv but sometimes we read or just talk. reed always wants lots of Werther's so i stay in his room to make sure he gets all that he wants. he usually ends up having more than he should and i give him a shot of insulin for his diabetes.

when he's ready to sleep i give him a suction again and give him more meds. i dump out the water, roll him on his side, make sure he's comfortable, take his temperature, pull up the covers, turn on the monitor, say goodnight and turn off the lights.

then, i go up to my room and turn on the monitor upstairs, get myself ready for bed, read scriptures, say prayers and get to sleep around 2.

at four thirty, i wake up to my most obnoxious alarm clock and run down stairs to turn reed on his back, dump out the water again, give him another suction, give him more meds, take temp. again, roll on other side, pull up covers, push the trach on tight, say good morning and i'm up to bed for another blessed six hours of sleep.

as i'm writing this, it's taking me a long time and i'm realizing how not exciting it is and how most people don't want to read it considering i got bored writing it. but! i'm going to put it up anyway for anyone who has a life more boring than mine and would like to entertain themselves.