Facie’s Ramblings

I hate traveling, both long car rides and any length of a plane ride. I am fairly certain I have mentioned that here, back in the height of my blogging days. Time, money, inconvenience, and, most of all, fear are the reasons. Unfortunately, my family is not close by. One brother is in TX, a plane ride away, and the other brother is in NC, a nine-plus-hour drive away. So, when a brother invites us for a holiday or other gathering, I rarely say yes (it helps that they do come to this area several times a year). About a month ago, my NC brother suggested the three of us and our families along with Mom get together over Easter to celebrate Mom's upcoming 75th birthday in NC. Of course, my first selfish thought was that either I was going to have to suffer through a long drive in my crappy car, or I was going to have to shell out money for some plane tickets. I could not use work as an excuse, as I did last year when one of them invited me (I did not have enough vacation time at tha...

When I turned 35, my ob-gyn gave me a prescription to have a mammogram done. I ignored it, not for any one good reason. When I came back for my exam the next year, I sheepishly told her I would need   another   prescription since I neglected to have my mammogram done during that past year. Doc informed me the guidelines had changed, and I would not need to get it done until 40 now. I felt downright smug I had procrastinated. A couple weeks shy of 41, I finally went. While there, I announced to the technician that it was my first time. She told me that they should give out stickers. I agreed. Regardless, the imaging did not take too long, and although it was not pleasant, it was not as bad as I had envisioned. About two weeks ago, a friend posted about her mammogram experience. That served as a reminder that  my  mammogram was overdue; it had been more than two years. So I called the next day, and was actually able to get in, in just a few hours (the hospital i...