Cherished Friendships ~

This last Friday I spent the day and night with a High School 

friend I had not seen in 39 years.   

Mary (Beth) on the left, myself on the right.

The photo was taken in our sewing class, we were looking through a pattern book :-)

Needless to say there was a lot of ground to cover when we reunited.

When I pulled up to the condo (on the beach), she hopped in the car to guide me to 

the underground parking.  My first words to her were,

 " so I'm thinking, if neither of us wear our glasses, we'll still look the same".  

Once in the condo "our stories" began.

I was aware, prior to our reuniting that her brother and best friend Dennis had died suddenly just seven months prior. 

There was so much about the last 39 years to hear.

Some was very hard to share...

What I didn't know is, she had witnessed the motorcycle accident of a dear friend.

What I didn't know is, for many years she has been caring for their Mom who has Alzheimer's.

What I didn't know was, 48 hours prior to receiving the news of her brother's passing,

she had lost the love of her life, her boyfriend of 10 years, just as suddenly.

It broke my heart when she felt she should be able to speak of this with out tears,

 that she felt she should be further along in this process of loss.

I, was keenly aware instantly of why God has brought us together.

 This reunion was not by chance, and I told her so.  

I knew of this place she is currently in, she is still in that place known as surreal.

She seemed surprised, relieved that I knew the word to describe her last 7 months.

Our situations different in many ways, with me it was  the loss of my Father and Mother.

What wasn't different was entering that place known as surreal.

My heart broke for her loss, for the emotion she still carried that needed to be released.

I assured her, she was expecting way to much to think that in 7 short months she would 

be able to make it through a day without tears of grief.

I tried to assure her, it's different for everyone.  I shared that for me after the loss of my Dad, that place known as surreal was my address for 2 years.
 I was a mess, and it had to be okay.  

It was the time required for me to grieve properly. 

It needed to be done prior to resuming my life,

a changed life, but it did resume.

We did have a such a special time.  We went through our high school yearbook, which of course spurred many memories, to say the least.  

Our evening ended at 3:00 A.M., and even then,

there was so much to say. 

 We had breakfast that morning and enjoyed some more conversation of days past.

 We then hugged goodbye, promised we'd do it again and we each headed for home. 

Each in a little different place than where we were when our visit started.

I'm so looking forward to seeing her again,

 to being a part of each others lives, 

again.

~

Prior to my time on the beach, I was informed a childhood friend who actually lived across the street from me has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

  Debbie is 55 years old and is very strong in her faith.

Upon my return home, a high school friend sent me a message and shared with me that his Mother Emma has been diagnosed with multi melanoma.

This morning I couldn't help but wake up feeling fortunate and blessed.

I'm experiencing the good that follows the bad.  

Because of my experience with loss, worry and fear, God is using me to comfort others. 

 I know of what they speak.

I've been to that place known as surreal.
 I know that we do come back from it.

I'm asking each of you to pray for my grieving friend Mary,

to pray for my sweet friend Debbie and her family,

to pray for my friend Dave, his Mother Emma and their entire family.

Pray that God will use me in a big way to love each of them

 through whatever lie ahead. 

Hoping to be a comfort, is what echos from my heart today.

Father's Day ~

It's so strange to me that my sweet Dad has been gone five years now.

Still feeling so blessed that I had him in my life as long as I did.

I've had more people tell me they can't relate to the fact my Dad meant the world to me,

how much I loved and respected him,
that we had a great relationship.

I seriously grieve for those people who can't relate, 

sad for the daughters who have not experienced the kind of 

love and life I had with my Father.

More reason to count myself lucky, fortunate, blessed.....

A woman stood in the grocery line behind me, 

smiled and stated she almost forgot to get her Dad a Father's Day card.

She waved the card as she spoke.....

I smiled back and told her I wish my Dad was here so I could give him a card
this Father's Day.

As I left the checkout I looked back to her

 and felt the need to tell her, 

"make everyday count with your Dad".

I never missed a Father's Day with him....

I was so thankful for that fact,
when the first Father's Day without him
occurred....

 ~
Missing him today as I do everyday.
My Dad, my first love.........

Grateful I belonged to him.... love for my Dad, it's what echos from my heart today.....

Rocky Road , Not the Ice Cream ~

The hubstir had shoulder surgery two weeks ago.

Surgery,

on the day I was at the peak of body aches due to a visit

from ye old flu bug...

The surgery was to last about and hour and fifteen minutes

however it

 turned out to be three hours and fifteen minutes.

~

After surgery 

The surgeons first words to me were,

"your husband has a very high pain tolerance, his was the worst I have

ever seen and I've been doing this a long time".

Let' jump ahead two weeks.

~

After weeks of him sleeping in the recliner, (they recommend it)

and really, very little sleep was to be had,

at last he has had three nights in an actual bed,

the guest bed.

(No we haven't gone all Desi and Lucy, it's just his odds (and therefore mine) of

getting a good nights sleep are much better.)

Sleep, something lacking in both our lives in the last two weeks..

He had his post op appointment Wednesday.

Took new x-rays with him to see how it looked thus far.

Stitches removed...

Jump to the bad news.

~

The screws have worked themselves out!

A second surgery now needed is scheduled for the twentieth...

As if it's not lousy enough there is a second surgery,

 lets let him think about it for a couple weeks :-( 

Surgeon speaks, " I have never had a case where the screws worked

themselves out! "

Thursday the hubstir is shouting for me from the opposite side of the house.

Blood was shooting about a foot and and half out of his "healed" surgical site... 

We applied pressure with a washcloth (folded in fours),

blood continued filling the cloth ?

Paged the surgeon who promptly returned our call.

I explained what had happened, and that we did get it stopped.

Surgeon speaks, " Your husband is a strange case" (I smiled in my head)

" I have never had a patients surgery site start spurting blood".

Friday back to the Doctors so he could take a look.

Needless to say the hubs is a tad bummed out,

very antsy, bored, feels useless, frustrated and the list goes on... 

Though nothing compares to what he has been going through,

can I just speak to the women out there?

Nah,

you know.

It has been a challenge along side him as he faces this mountain he 

has been climbing daily (only to prepare to climb it again).
This is a big challenge for him, on many levels.

On the up side....

Add to the mix

 our sweet little Khloe everyday (thank God)....

Little things like trying to put her shorts on her head...sometimes

they get stuck :-)

or as she would say, " caught". 

She gives cause for many smiles and laughs everyday, for both of us.

Forget the fact she YELLS " Pa" ten thousand times a day 

we are both glad she is here!!

She does his shoulder exercises with him :-) 

She assists him in tending to his tomatoes....

There is much to discover as we go through this long 
time of our lives together....and we are " discovering"!

We are so looking forward to the day

 that we are

looking back at this time

that we got grew through.

Challenges faced every day, 

each of us in a different way,

 for different reasons.

Time with God during this season of life,

priceless.

Much to be learned as we make our way to the next day,

the next two weeks, the next recovery period.

God has brought to my attention early on,

areas that I really need to work on!

All things work together for good :-)

Romans 8:28

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. 

So, I'm soliciting prayers for his upcoming surgery,

for our daily challenges of working through this time together.

Mostly for Bob to find some peace as he waits, recovers and heals.

It's going to be a long road for him....

~

A desire for peace in the midst of it all,

it's what echos from my heart today. 

Honestly Speaking ~

Yet, speaking in general....

Why is that what isn't done to an others liking is what gets noticed?

What about the rest?

Children draw our complete attention when they do something wrong,

Is the same attention given with all that's right?

We notice the one that volunteers for service of many kinds,

 many serve daily and go unnoticed.

Thanked a Veteran lately?

Many complain about the unfairness in the workplace,

and all that's wrong there.

Why not focus on how lucky you are to have a job?

There are those who complain about their spouses,

how about you focus on the kind of spouse you are?

There are numerous complaints about a lack of money,

yet we continue to spend.

To obtain that which is your greatest desire,

how much are you willing to sacrifice to obtain it?

Some wondering if they will survive the raising of their children,

hey, they take work, they take time.

Nobody said it would be easy....

nothing of real value is.

When will my life change rather than repeating the same problems?

When are you willing to make changes??

It's _________ fault I'm the way I am.

Throw down that crutch and walk!

May I suggest we start focusing on what there is to be grateful for.

Maybe you start behaving like an adult, put away your childish ways.

Maybe you make every day count with the people you love,

this life is not a game.  You won't get to play again.......

 Maybe rather than point the finger at another,

we focus on ourselves and what we need to work on?

This really isn't rocket science....

but it is 

what echos from my heart today :-)