Memories. Ahhh Yes, Memories of My Life

Wants Vs Needs, General Stuff

Wants vs. Needs

         We all have wants. We all have needs. Fortunately, right now I have few needs, but many wants. Examples.

         Needs. I have few needs in my opinion. I have a nice roof overhead in this 100 year old house. We are slowly upgrading areas of it. It was re-roofed about 5 years ago, the AC/Heater was replaced 2 years ago (the original one was about 60 years old), and we have the two doors and several windows being replaced once the company can get the materials on hand. The meals we prepare here are hot and enticing. A nice bed, recently purchased from Mattress Firm (more on that in a minute), a van that is not new, but only 7 years old, and in very good shape. I can get out when I want to, and do. My bills are paid each month with leftover funds that I'm starting to put into a savings account. I started drawing Social Security this month, and plan on keeping that in savings every month and live off my salary, which I've been doing all this time. So I have few needs.

         Wants? That's another story. I want a new laptop, this one is about 3 years old, a bit big and difficult to travel with due to weight and size. There's nothing wrong with it, but I try to replace it every three or four years. This one is due. I'd love to buy a motorhome. The model I've been looking at is a Rialta made by Winnebago on a VW chassis. But they stopped making them in 2005. It's small, a perfect size to travel n, but not live in. I'd need a larger one for that. It's a nice starter motorhome though. Clothes. Most of my daily use shirts are 5-7 years old, and in good shape. I want to replace them, and slowly will. Those I replace will go to either Goodwill, or a similar charity. There is still a lot of good use in them.

         Now on to other subjects. This goes along with the bed I mentioned earlier, and why we purchased a new one. I was not sleeping well for the most part. I wear a Fit-Bit, mainly because this one monitors my oxygen level (it was low in March due to that cough, but is fine now after the sinus surgery). The Fit-Bit monitors my sleep and gives me a sleep score each day. I know it's not something to 'bank on', but it does give me a reference to work on. Before we purchased the bed, my scores were in the low 70's to mid-60's. That's a 'fair' score according to Fit-Bit. I'd get scores below 60 at least twice a week ( a 'poor' score). Since getting the Beauty Rest bed, my average score is at least 5-6 above what I was seeing before. But I'm still not sleeping well overall. Most days are good, but one the one day I take the Dexamethasone, it's insane. I take it on Saturday, and suffer quite a bit of Insomnia on Saturday night. This results in a low score. Last night I went to bed about 1:30 am, at least 3 hours later than normal for me. Normally I fall asleep in five minutes or less. Last night I tossed and turned until 3am, then slept until only 5:30. This steroid (I shorten it to Dex) also causes me to experience leg cramps. You know the kind. Cramps that cause your calf muscle to turn as hard as a rock. I've discovered how to get rid of the cramp though. Just get out of bed, and stand on that foot. Lean forward if you have to. The cramp is gone. Get back in bed. The problem with that? The cramp returns shortly, which is why I ended up getting up so early. We have raised the head of the bed, and the feet a little less. This is to help stop snoring, and improves the quality of sleep. It works too!

         Life is good, it's always good, no matter what. I've been where some of you are now. I scraped by payday to payday, robbing Peter to pay Paul (as my father used to say). I won't go into details that you don't want or need to know about, but I've been there. I'm so grateful for what I have now, my career, life, and health. Yes, despite all that's going on in that part of my world, I'm grateful for my health because it could be so much worse.

         Okay, enough of all this. My wish for everyone, is that you live life to the fullest, and thank God for providing what you have, and if you struggle now, that you'll find that place in your world that allows you to live better than you are now. Till next time, y'all be good, take care of yourselves, and love those who love you. And of course, keep on writing!