The Coastal Grandmother Update

Last year’s Spring/Summer Wardrobe post

I have been promising you my Spring/Summer Wardrobe 2024 post for weeks so why haven’t I posted it yet! That’s a good question, and there’s actually a good answer.

On Memorial Day weekend, I went to a cookout at my neighbor’s house on Sunday afternoon late. After an enjoyable meal and visit with friends and neighbors, I came home and went out to walk Emmy, my little dog. It was just starting to get dark, and as I rounded the corner and started up the sidewalk, I tripped over a 3/4 inch lip on a sidewalk paver that had settled. I had actually tripped on it before, but was able to catch myself. This time, maybe because it was getting dark and I didn’t notice it, I’m not sure, but I went down HARD! Please don’t view the photo below if you are squeamish!

Me the day after the fall. I could not bring myself to publish my photo 3 days after. Suffice it to say my entire face, neck, and down my chest, was black and blue.

I had cut my lip where my tooth went through, so there was a lot of blood! My daughter and her husband arrived and immediately called an ambulance. The biggest fear, other than broken bones, was a possible brain bleed since I am on a blood thinner. They did a CT scan at the hospital, and nothing was broken and no brain bleed, praise God. Believe me, I have been on my knees thanking Him every day since. When people in their eighties fall as hard as I did, they generally break something.

Accidents are Serious Business

Jeannine was my only girl first cousin, and, I loved her dearly. She was a few years younger than my sister and me, but we all grew up together and were close. She married, had two lovely boys and became an RN. One weekend, she and some other nurses were doing crafts for Christmas. She forgot something in her car and went down to get it. As she ran back up the steps, she missed a step and fell hard on her chin. She cut her lip, and laughed with the other nurses about how clumsy she was. They finished their crafts and she got home around 11:00 pm. After telling her husband why her face was swollen and bruised and her lip was cut, they went to bed. My sweet cousin went into a coma the next day and died at 48 years old from a brain bleed.

Why do I tell you this, I want you to understand how serious a fall can be, at any age! Please, never brush it off, even if you feel it wasn’t that bad. My cousin was an RN, and was on a blood thinner, and, even though she didn’t feel her fall was serious enough to go to the hospital, it turned out to be fatal. You might recall that is how Natasha Richardson, actress, and wife of Liam Neeson, died after hitting her head in a skiing accident. She,also, didn’t feel it was serious enough to go to the hospital. Even if you are embarrassed and feel your fall may have been due to your own clumsiness (it rarely is), it is so worth it to get checked out. It could literally save your life!!

Healing Mountain Air

The second week after my fall, my son and his wife invited me on a trip to Smith Mountain Lake. My oldest grandson and his family were meeting us there. They live in Tennessee, and

it is about half way for each of us. My biggest concern was that I might frighten the children with my appearance. They are little, and I looked pretty scary at that point. My daughter had said, “Mom, you are good with makeup, but there is not enough makeup out there to cover that”! I tried though. The day they were to arrive, I took extra time with my makeup. Even with a lot of concealer and three foundations, Anya, 4 years old, asked, “what’s wrong with your face?”. I told her I fell on the sidewalk. She said, “did it hurt?”. I told her, “yes, it did hurt”. Her next question was, “did it bleed?”. I said, “yes, it did bleed, but it is much better now”. She was quite satisfied and ran off to play! Children are curious, but so resilient. Once they have an answer they can understand, they are fine.


Talia, 12 years old	Anya, 4 years old	Baby Luca, 1 year old

What could be more healing than cool mountain air, a beautiful lakeside view, and hanging out with family. Even though my daughter-in-law, Nancy, was facing lung surgery the next week, she had a wonderful time with the grandchildren. She helped them learn to fish, took them on canoe rides and planned games and activities. You would never know she is fighting cancer. I have said before, she is amazing, and she is!

Nancy helping Anya with her first fish. Anya was not the least bit squeamish about the worms!

Update:

In my last blog, I promised you an update on how everything is progressing. First of all, for Nancy. She came through the five hour lung surgery really well. She was up walking that very night. The surgeon told my son it went better than expected, and they felt sure it was successful. Another praise! The surgery was on a Thursday, and she went home on Saturday! She has continued to recuperate, and she and my son are coming to the beach tomorrow for a reunion with Nancy’s family. Nancy planned this a year ago before she got the cancer diagnosis. Even through all of this, Nancy has planned trips, created events, and lived her life with faith, hope, happiness and a positive attitude.

What about the Beach House?

As I mentioned in my last blog, we have been negotiating for a new beach property in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The home inspection uncovered some serious problems with the outside of the house. It needed a new roof, considerable new siding to repair rot damage and a new HVAC. Naturally, we are talking thousands of dollars. Once we got the report, we had to go back to the seller and renegotiate. He was already taking a loss on the house, so this was a very difficult position for him. After several attempts, we finally reached an agreeable solution. We will take possession of the house on July 30th. I cannot give enough credit to my realtor, Charles Rocknak. He is a true professional, and was on top of every detail. Now that it is a “done deal”, we are finally getting excited! If my son were not a contractor, I would not even have considered this. He and I have done a number of “makeovers” together, so we are looking forward to this new project.

My face has finally healed enough that we were able to shoot the new 2024 Spring/Summer Wardrobe video last Saturday, and you can expect my blog to come out the middle of July. I do have some exciting news to share with you in that blog! Happy summer everyone!