Hitting a Ruff Patch

Going thru a hard time right now.  The VA has stopped my disability check.  They made a mistake that is all upon me now to correct stemming from a misspent letter by them in Aug.  That letter was asking me to verified I was still married but I never received it because they mailed it to the wrong address.

I am struggling severely financially and may lose everything if not corrected soon.  This causes me a lot of worry and is very stressful for Sherry who is dying of cancer.  I do hope all this turmoil does not impact her health.  Should we lose our home it may kill us all to be homeless on the street.

I pray everyday and have contacted every point I can to get this resolved but to no avail.  I put my trust in Him, his will be done.  My faith is unwavering.

Here we are in the time of Christmas.  After a brutal election.  The country is fractured.  Why?  Are we not a Christian Nation?  I am troubled that we as world a leader have such division.  I feel I hold God first, My country next, my right to own firearms and then my family and if you want to run over these you have to go thru me.

There is evil in this worlds and sin in men's hearts.  We must protect the innocent and stand fast against evil.  It is not the job of the government to do this for us as we as a people must stand in the breach.

My wife is dying and I hurt so bad.  It is a hard thing to stand by day after day and watch as the disease takes her life.  I am there for her but I suffer as she does.  It is difficult to be a caregiver and bear the  hurt as I watch her die.  Family and friend shy away from what we are going thru.

I get relieve from going to the YMCA to exercise, cleaning and doing housework, working in the shop and anything that I can find to keep me occupied.

What does the New Year hold?  I do not know.  The Bible tells us what is to come on a global scale.  I feel we are in the last days of this life  But, how long  will it go on.  Fight he good fight.  Protect the weak.  Tell the truth.  Stand for justice in all things you do.

Patty Loveless "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive"

Where am I?

Where am I/  Often I say this to myself.  I reassess where I am.  Spiritually, physically and I am in my daily routine.  I am trying to stay physically active.  I go to the YMCA 5 days a week and work out.  Treadmill for an hour everyday.  I do look forward to that.  I also use weights a 180 reps three times a day.  I want to eat better and lose a few more pounds.

I want to improve and  train up regarding my field craft especially in marksmanship.  I have spent time in the past week maintaining the PMCS of our vehicles and weapons maintenance.  These are important and only a small part of the big picture.

Taking care of my wife Sherry who is in the final stages of Cancer.  I cry and feel so alone.  No one is here for her or me.  My sons are but they do not see what I do.  They do help all they can.  But only God knows what we face.

Just Catching Up

I just thought I'd bang out a few lines to catch my readers up and for the sake of posterity.  October in the Carolinas is a beautiful time.  I love the fall with the cooler temps and changing of the leaves.  It signals the cold days of winter which will be here soon.  It brings the promise of Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It makes me feel a little sad that the warm days of summer are gone for another year and we must endure the cold hard winter to come.

I have been going to the YMCA 5 days a week to spend some time on the treadmill and to have a little "me" time.  I have the day to day chores of keeping the "Smithson Plantation" up and running.  There are the tings I have to do to care for Sherry in her time of sickness.  It keeps me busy and wears me down.

Woody my youngest has returned home.  He has his dog, Flash who is quite a character.  Flash is a Jack Russell with unbridled energy and pep.  He is such a sweet boy and so pretty.  Woody is living in his motor home in the back and has a nice set up out there.

I hope to get more involved with my SCV Camp and help out where I can.  I am torn with taking care of Sherry and doing other things but I know where my priorities  lie and Sherry must come first.  I spend time reading and I have my church which I dearly love to attend.  Sunday's are a special day to me and I feel the best when I attend services.

I hope pay a visit to Mom and my sisters soon.  Sherry has agreed to go to Hospice house for a visit so I can go some time in the future.  Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on the Southern coast and I pray they will weather the storm and come thru it ok.  Only time will tell.

Back in the Black

I am calling today's post "Back in the Black" because today I am grounding myself in the basic things I have tried to set as goals for myself.  Dieting, Fitness, Learning and Discipline.

I am using my skills from the MOVE program at the VA Med center to track my calorie intake and the tools they gave me to make the progress I desire to make.

Pin Pin and I went for a morning walk along McCray Rd today and made a new friend.  I have seen him walking before and introduced myself to him.  He is recovering from a stroke earlier this year and walks along the same path as I for his exercise regimen.  His name is Garret.  Pin Pin was surprising as she never offered to bark at him and was totally at ease with this stranger.  I have found dogs are good judges of character even if you are not.

I desire to read more daily and study the Bible more each and everyday.  I feel it is important to learn as much as anyone can each day.  Only if it is a little it will benefit you

Discipline.  I hope to adhere to a training plan I shall develop similar to one we used in the military to keep me on track and to achieve daily goals.  This Training Schedule is a guide and nothing etched in stone as each and everyday is a fluid motion of time and we must react to it and not necessarily be able to do just as we please.

I am thankful God has given me this day.  I give thanks unto Him who has delivered me here to this place.  I am happy to be here.  I am happy to be back in our peaceful home and waay from the place we found ourselves this time last month.

Almost Heaven

I have been enjoying the time I have been in West Virginia.  My morning walks are most enjoyable.  The scenery is so beautiful and the calm and peace of the country is soothing to me.  I try and walk at least every other day.  The mornings are the most agreeable.  i walk from our house to the childhood church Sherry attended as a girl.  I think about those days back then when people walked more and who may have walked that same path I take and what they thought about.  It must have been a happy time back then for those brothers and sisters walking to church and to the store.  The school used to be just across the road from the church.
ks and rides.
Yesterday I enjoyed riding in to Princeton for the street fair.  There were many show cars and vendors and it was a carnival like atmosphere.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and the music was really good.  I got a backpack at a yard sale.  It was a military style that they came out with after my days were up.  It has a bladder for water and a spout.  Thought it would be a good accessory on long walks and rides.

The grand kids got bikes from Santa for Christmas and I think it would be cool to get one too and ride with them.  Oh well just a thought.  It would be a good way to boost my exercise routine.

I do miss home in NC and everyday I fight the depression.  I do hope that one day I can go back home to Burlington.  It is not my wish to be here but I do so out of obligation to Sherry.  One day, I shall go home.