The On Goging Saga

Moe isn't doing any better on the new mads .If anything , he seems to be getting worse . His appointment date is coming soon , so will wait until then .... if things stay the same with him . He is scared . I am scared . It is so difficult to sit back and watch some one you love and care for suffer in pain .

Moe is not a " whinner ". He never complains . This makes it much harder to know when he needs his extra meds , as he just won't say he is in pain . This in turn leads to me asking him every 5 minutes , " Are you in pain "? This just irrates him to no end and he lies to me, says no , rather rudly , at times , lol  I might add. So , I have now become a face reader . I read the little lines that creep up around his eyes as he scrunches them in pain , when he thinks I am not looking at him . Or maybe the way he will tighten his fits into a ball as they lay in his lap , he thinks , out of my sight .He just can't seem to get it into his head that it is OK to say he is in pain and that he may have meds to STOP the pain .I guess when it comes to this subject , he is from the John Wayne school of thought ... Real Men Don't Show Their Pain, sigh !!!

I am afraid to leave him alone for any length of time . I am afraid that if his chest pains get worse if he is alone,  he won't take his pills unless I am there brough beat  him into taking them .This has happened before . I was on the computer in the other room from the one he was in , and I just walked into the living room to find him all gasping , clutching his chest in pain . I got his pills for him and had to MAKE HIM TAKE THEM , OMG ! He never thought to take them on his own . What to do ?Anyway, that time it all worked out fine . If he is out and about with a family member or his friends , I don't worry . Maybe I should , but I am ASSUMING ( and we all KNOW what happenes when one assumes things ) that they would help him .

We have had a new baby born , a wedding , and one funeral this last week in the neighborhood and everyone is angery with me for not coming , but besides the fact that it is dufficult for me to sitt that long in a chair without putting my leg up ,they just don't understand that I can't leave Moe unattened for so long on his own .I explain , they give me looks , I explain some more . I get more looks and finally I say something rude and they back off . I really hate to be like that , but you would think they would try to be more understanding of our situation as well .All the while , everyone thinks I am making this all up .

I have mentioned about Moe being ill here and on my FaceBook page for a while now , haven't I ? But all of the sudden Moe's brother's and sister's have " discovered" he is ill and is calling to see how he is . Well , that is nice and it cheers Moe up to know that they care for him , BUT ... it's not as if this is a news flash or something .I have told them he was ill face to face , but it was like and ???? But now it is out there in cyberspace , well ... it has become a OMG thing . LOL! It's sorta funny to me .

So , we are just taking things slow and easy , one day at a time . No plans , nap a lot ( so he will rest) , go for lazy drives in the country , and I try to keep my mouth shut and not nag him . Well , what are you laughing about ? It could happen ! I really hope things in your life are going smoothly for you and bring you joy . OTE

Hello Mauritius !

A very special hello to the wonderful people on the island nation of
The Republic Of Mauritius !
A paradise where dreams can come true !

Mabruke Al Mawluade

Tonight is the eve ( Mozum) of the Mawluade , which is tomorrow. Mawluade is the celebration of the Muslim prophet Mohammed's birthday . The orthodox Muslims don't celebrate this day as the Prophet Mohammed said they were not to celebrate any days but the two Eids and the Friday prayers .

But here in Libya most family's get together this night to have a special dinner. Then afterwards the little boy's carry a large lite candle to symbolize the light of Islam brought into the world with the Prophet Mohammed's birth , little girls carry a large candelabra shaped like a hand called The Hand of Fatima that has candles on the ends of the finger tips , after the Prophet Mohammed's daughter Fatima . The children usually will have firecrackers to set off after it gets dark to make a loud celebratory noise much like America's 4th of July . There might be singing and dancing too . Of course there will be sweet tea after wards served with many sweets to make it a true occasion!

Each family is in charge of their own fireworks and it can get pretty competitive to see who has the most , the loudest , and can set off more than the others all at the same time . Some years you would think it is a war going on outside !The days leading up to the Mawluade and for several weeks after the Mawluade you can still hear those things going off at odd times of the day or night . I don't like this part of the celebrations because I think it is way too dangerous for children to be playing with fireworks , but every year I would be out voted !

There is the fairly recent addition of the TREE . Sometimes you will find a tree , what Christians would think of as a Christmas tree , set up in a living room . A man will present one of these trees to his newly engaged fiancee along with a complete dress outfit , with jewelry too ! Lucky girl ! This tree will be artificial , but today when Moe and I were out shopping in one of the new mini malls that have started to sprouted up around Tripoli , I saw this real tree decorated as a Mawlaude Tree . As I was taking a picture of the tree to show you , a young man came up and wanted to pose with the tree in the picture . I told him I was posting it on my blog , because people here are so funny about having their pictures taken . He got so excited ! He began to run around everywhere shouting I am going to be on a blog !!! I wonder if he knew what a blog was .

Of course all of this is strictly not religiously acceptable . The time should be spent in prayer. The next day , the actual day of the Mawluade , it is business as usual , as everyone goes about their normal day . Some years the schools and the government offices are closed .

On the way home we drove by one of the main markets in town and I had forgotten by this time that this would be a big mistake , since this is one of the area's where fireworks , cheap toy's , drums, candles , and the tree's are sold . It took us an hour to drive one short block . I would have taken pictures but the traffic demanded my full attention ! Here is wishing all of you who celebrate, a very nice Mawluade .