APRIL

O.K. I am trying to get things caught up and I'm up to April. Lucy and Bob were staying so busy with all their exciting adventures that I was content to just read their blogs. I started the month off by giving blood. I have been a blood donor throughout the years, but it had been a while since I had done it. I just made the cutoff on the blood count so sat down it the chair. I did fine til the very end then I started getting a little woozy feeling. It took about 30 minutes and a lot of fluids to get to feeling better. I decided that my blood donation days were over!

We had a mini reunion of our nursing school class of 65. One of our classmates lives in Oregon and was in town visiting relatives. 6 of the 10 who were in the class got together (2 of our classmates are deceased). We had a good time and rehashed a lot of experiences.

The famous Blue Angels were in Tuscaloosa the first weekend in April I had a commitment on Saturday but Buddy went with his daughters and their families. He was on an antibiotic (for a spider bit) which caused him to be super sensitive to the sun, and he got a really bad sunburn.

That same weekend, we had Dexter's birthday party (2) at the church. We had a Handy Manny theme (Disney Playhouse). He had a ball. Jessica and Derrick took Dexter to Atlanta the weekend of his birthday. They went to the aquarium and the Coke museum. It was crowded because a lot of schools were on spring break.

Taylor had his birthday party (11) at the bowling alley. There were about 10 kids and as many adults bowling. Even Dexter (with Jessica's help) rolled the ball down the alley. It was cold in the bowling alley and very chaotic. I decided I was too old for that much excitement.

I was out of town a couple of Saturdays traveling around the state for our spring workshops for our CWF/DW region. I am the regional president and that is one of things that I get to do each year. We were in Cullman and Birmingham one Saturday and in Snow Hill, AL (rural area out of Montgomery) one Saturday. At the workshops, we present the study material and service projects for the upcoming year. It's a lot of work getting things ready and takes a lot of time driving to the locations. I delegated one of the workshops (in Pensacola, FL) to the VP who lives in south AL. We are also planning our fall retreat which will be held in a new location this year.

I made a couple of trips to out-of-town Lions Clubs to present some banner patches to clubs for their contributions to Alabama Lions Sight.

The University of Alabama had the annual A Day game on the 18th which meant that the church women sold hot dogs, chips, drink, and desserts at the church. We do this for all the home games. It is fun and a fairly good fund raiser. We have a lot of regular customers who have been coming for years.

April was National Volunteer Appreciation month. The hospital always does a nice luncheon for their auxiliary volunteers. For the past few years we have had it at Indian Hills Country Club. It's always a nice affair.

Buddy had a heart cath (which was good, clear coronary arteries) on April 22. He had been experiencing increased fatigue and shortness of breath along with a more irregular heart rate. His cardiologist did an echocardiogram and found that his prolapsed mitral valve was significantly worse and, after the heart cath, referred him to a cardiac surgeon.