Flowers on a Rainy Day...

The severe weather that was being predicted most of yesterday “after midnight” for this area arrived here at about 2:30 this morning. And poor R stumbling around with a flashlight trying to shut windows to keep everything from getting drenched. It continued to rain off an on most of the morning, and the house was rather dark and gloomy, what with all the trees fully leafed out and the sun not shining. R went to the Farmer’s Market this morning to see if any fresh vegetables were available, and he came back with turnips, cucumbers, and a small zucchini. And a small bouquet of roses. A couple of the blooms – one deep crimson and the other, yellow in the center and pink at the edges – have the sweetest scent. Nothing quite like a rose. Thursday was our anniversary, and we enjoyed a good pizza for lunch at home, but it wasn’t quite the same not being able to go out on a special date. The roses were such a special surprise. A bright spot to draw my eye as I camp out on the couch working on papers.

Sixty-three and Counting

As my mother recalls it, this was taken in San Francisco in 1947, while my father was still in the Navy. This would have been 2 years after their marriage on June 22, 1945. They look so young; well, they were: she was maybe 21 and he was 23. They look so happy... and thin (I always wondered why I had ended up so thin as a child, pretty obvious, isn't it?Itt was in them genes). The ship my father was on docked periodically in San Francisco for a few days, and mom would go up and meet him.

They have had such a good marriage, an example to us all of how to be wife and a husband. Some of us were thinking that maybe there would be no more anniversaries after my mom’s accident, but she came home today from the nursing home. I was so pleased to talk to her on the phone and hear about my brother and his wife serving them a special dinner to celebrate their 63rd anniversary -- a double celebration!

Earlier in the year, a woman they were in line with at the checkout counter commented how happy they seemed together and how loving they were to each other. The glow that is on their faces in this picture never faded.

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words...

and likely quite a bit more than that in dollars (click on the picture to enlarge)

Dealing With Disappointment

Well, there is disappointment, and then there is

DISAPPOINTMENT

Since about January, the main thing I was looking forward too for this year was our trip to California. We were supposed to leave on June 18 to see my family and attend the big party on June 21 for my sister's youngest daughter to celebrate her 18th birthday and high school graduation. Everything fell into place, even for R.

Then, the vacation became even more important because of the situation with my folks and my mother being in the nursing home trying to get back on her feet--literally--after spinal surgery. I know my brothers and sister were looking forward to my being there at the house with Dad for the week to help take some of the burden off of them and to visit with my mom.

As we were waiting in the ER, it was immediately obvious to R that the vacation would have to be cancelled. At first, I was in denial, but then he began gently explaining the logistics of driving 1500 miles with me unable to walk; indeed, it may be 2 months before I can get back on my feet again.

Like just about everybody else that walks the earth, I have to work through any number major disappointments over the years, but the only time I remember feeling this much disappointment for a similar reason was when I was in elementary school and my class was going on a field trip to some really neat place. Maybe it was the circus, or Marineland of the Pacific (an oceanarium that used to be on Palos Verdes Peninsula), but I was unable to go because I was sick on the day of the trip. Really sick. I was basically very healthy as a kid, and I almost never missed school for any reason, but I certainly missed school that morning. I did not get to go on the field trip. It was devastating.

My family in California is disappointed, too, but the first thing my dad said on the phone when I broke the news was, "Well, maybe you can come out for your birthday." So everybody is getting over it, moving on with life, and once again thinking ahead to the future. I have a choice, too: I can semi-sit here and brood and be depressed, or I can take the Apostle Paul's words to heart...

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28). and...

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us--they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us...(Rom 5:3)

We'll just have to see what sort of good thing comes out of this injury and better yet, what sort of a character I turn out to be after this is episode in life comes to its conclusion.

Life Comes Atcha, Fast!

No kidding. It is quite astounding sometimes how much life can change in just the blink of an eye. My trip to a garage sale on Saturday ended in a disaster. I did not get a bargain. Instead I got something I was totally not prepared for. As I was making my way to the first table of stuff, I slipped on wet, painted concrete and fell hard. Very hard. I knew immediately something was seriously wrong. The garage sale people were very kind. A man got my car and drove it over by where I was sitting on a wheeled office chair. They wheeled me over to the car, I levered myself in, and I drove myself home.

Later, R drove us to the emergency department of a county hospital. And we only spent about an hour there, which was fairly fast for an ER visit, I think. The ER doc was very nice. He explained that it was just a fractured pelvic bone, not a broken hip. Which was nice to hear. He seemed more worried about my blood pressure than anything else—like maybe someone who is in considerable pain from a fractured bone and totally stressed out because of the dramatic changes in store from that moment on is going to have 120/80? He said there wasn’t really anything that could be done this type of a fracture except resting in bed and no weight-bearing. “So,” he said, “call a doctor on Monday and get that blood pressure checked out” as he walked way to see the next patient. Which looked like an injury to a lower leg or ankle, judging from the x-ray film displayed on the terminal he wheeled by a few minutes later.

An unexpected blessing came on Sunday. Church was canceled because I wasn't going to be there, the pastor was sick, another couple was out-of-town, and no one else was expected to come. So R put a note on the door. As it happened, a couple who weren't aware of all this drama showed up for the service. She is on a permanent respirator and spends all of her time in an electric wheelchair because of a degenerative diseases--muscular dystrophy maybe, or ALS, or something like that--and he came over to see why church had been canceled. When he saw our predicament, he offered us the use of a wheelchair that had been custom-designed for his wife while she was still able to use her arms. It is small and narrow and fits through the odd-sized doors in our house. I was definitely going to need a wheelchair, and a regularly sized wheelchair would never have worked. It just amazes me how God arranges these things. I don't understand why He allowed the accident to happen, but He certainly has blessed in the process.