welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

whirlwind 2

WHIRLWIND 2
we loaded up our two cars with all that was left
we sold or gave away or donated everything else
if we couldnt get it in our two cars
it didnt make the move

of course
the first two things we well ok i packed
was our two tv sets
one big one
the other a smaller one
then
we packed everything around those tv sets

its interesting what we took with us
and
what we left that we thought was important
but
i guess really wasnt

it helped that we had culled out a lot of stuff
like
bags and bags of clothes
lots and lots of paperwork

all i thought was important but after i spent a day or two
looking at it
well it wasnt

i had talked to my rainwater brother a financial planner
about what paperwork i needed and what i needed to
just chunk away
that was earlier this year

i thinned it all out
took all that paperwork i didnt need
like i did several years ago
buried some in the garden to enrich the soil
shredded a lot and recycled it

another hard thing to leave
was all my tools and garden stuff

i can tell you now i wished i could have kept some of it
since i need it now
but
we had to make decisions based on our space
left in our car and our needs
so
i took out an old tackle box
those plastic ones you get at like walmart

i told my wife she
if i cant get it in this box
then
we arent taking it

so
looking at all those tools laid out all over those tables
what tools will i take
the first one i chose was this one
my younger brother who died with alzheimers disease
used this tool
he kept it in his pocket
when he maintained the local water system
he was always needing it to open or tightened a valve

i had told his wife i want some tool of his that
i can remember him when i use it
so
it was number one into the box

another was my dads old pocketknife
now
i never use it but i wanted to keep it

then my wifes shes small hammer
various pliers and screw drivers
a roll of duct tape of course

when i got through
the box wouldnt close
so
i had to remove some things
until it closed
then i put it in the car

my wife she wanted to leave a knife set that i liked to use
for cooking
you know the type that all fits into one block of wood
with slots for everything

we can get another one when we get there
ok i said
but
i plucked it off the shelf at our moving sale
when she wasnt looking
put it in a plastic bag
stuffed it under the tv
and
i must say it fits nicely on our counter in our new place


then
there was the chicken bowl
that my patient i called the carver
made for me
its made from a old mesquite trunk
its heavy
it will last forever

i know we could have easily sold it for more than we paid
for it
but
i just couldnt do it

it goes we both said as we looked at each other

we actually loaded both cars before our moving sale
if it cant fit in the cars
its for sale
thats how we approached our sale
get rid of what was left

our oldest dog maverick
may he rip
was put down as he was too old
to move somewhere else
he would have bad days then good days
we made the decision
to let his last memories be of our country n
then
there was marley
the best ever dog we have owned
we would always say
no he wont bite you but he will lick you to death

all i can say is
he knew a day or two before we moved
we were leaving
and
we were never coming back

besides sleeping maverick
and crying a lot about it
leaving marley
that left us with tears for several miles

a good friend whose dog was marleys buddy
agreed to take him
marley would have 18 acres to himself
a small pond to swim in during rainy seasons
a buddy to play with who had  more energy than old maverick did
he would be in a good place for sure

so as we got in our cars that early sunday morning
to make that quick long long trip to california
one we will never ever do again

marley lay on the sidewalk
with his head on his paws
looking up at us with those sad eyes

we patted his head
hugged him
kissed him on the head

yes
he knew

then
we left

we knew when our friend picked him up later that day
that he would be in a good place

that
made leaving him easier to do

we couldnt pack everything

tomorrow
whirlwind 3

the organicgreen doctor

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