Sept 8, 2022

It started like any other day... get up, feed the cats, go to work in the sweet little shop I love so much.

I put ribs in the slow cooker before I left for work. After a un-notable day (slow season!) I returned to my little home full of the yummy smell of ribs driving the cats. I wanted to share my little feast with Mom so I texted my offer of dinner and dominos. She didn't answer and I was getting a little driven nuts by the yummy smell and having a difficult time waiting for her reply without ripping the lid off the cooker and diving in with my fork. So I called her and asked if I could bring dinner over. She said "No." I knew something was up, in all her 5'6" 125 pounds of skinny glory she'd never passed up a home cooked meal!

She was waiting to be discharged from the emergency room she'd driven herself to a couple hours earlier, "not feeling good." She was going to drive herself back home after receiving a diagnosis of a pretty bad infection but she sounded like they had given her a bucket full of pain killers so I offered to run over and get her.

She had indeed started the discharge process when the nurse noticed her speech change. By the time I got to the ER she was having a stroke right before my eyes. God bless that nurse who noticed and the care she got there. Thank you to the evac crew who were so gentle with her on the way to St. Joe's in the big yellow bumble bee. Her first helicopter ride. Thank you to the nurses and doctors who were patient with her and treated her well. Thank you for the science behind a treatment that since she was in the "time window" to receive a clot buster made all the difference in the world. Thank you for a good friend who drove me to the valley and back.

Mom is good. She struggles to rest because she's used to being so active. But she's grateful for concerned friends and more time. We've scheduled a trip to see her grands over Thanksgiving. It's her favorite place on earth, that little rented living room we gather in.

I will never forget how a normal day could change on a dime. I am eternally grateful for a Heavenly Father who orchestrated that day before He formed mom in my Nana's womb and brought every moment together like a fine symphony of people, skills, and compassion. I am eternally grateful for the stripes on the back of His Son, in which we are all healed.

Tell your peeps you love them often. And know The Father. Follow His Son. We are dust, our lives a vapor, Their plans and protection are perfect for us if we allow Them in. To God be the glory. Amen and Amen.