It's Been a Year

12 November 2017

Grumpy, Auntie M, and I made our way down to South Georgia yesterday to take Grammy's ashes to her final resting place . . .

Funny thing about death . . . there's really not much "planning" involved. About the only way you can plan ahead is to make your wishes known about what should happen after the eventuality of your death: choosing between burial, cremation, or donating your body for scientific study.

I read a book years ago: Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral. Yeah, I know, how can a funeral be "traveling" . . . much less "fabulous?" Well, Annie Freeman was determined to make hers both! Here's a synopsis of that story:

I actually thought about donating my body to science, and there are several places that take bodies. One of those places happens to be The Body Farm on the UT campus in Knoxville where they study decomposition to help doctors, scientists, and criminologists in their line of work. Turns out, that thought didn't last long at all . . . who wants to sit out in the elements while people come poke and prod you?!?!?

Since I started my education in pre-med, I even thought about donating it to a medical school so medical students could study the intricacies of what makes a human body work. But as I listened to medical students discuss their studies, I decided I couldn't lay on a cold table while they poked and prodded either. Besides, I don't have any unusual diseases that might be of interest!

That left cremation because the thought of being buried just seems so morbid. After all, once your soul leaves your body, what's left? It's just a vessel . . . an imperfect shell. I believe I'm going to Heaven, and the Bible promises a new body, free from pain and suffering; you'll find that passage in 2 Corinthians.

I also know I want my ashes spread in two separate places . . . Annie chose more than that, and her friends honored her request. Part of me belongs in Santa Fe, NM . . . a place I've always wanted to live. I figure if I never get to actually live there, at least I'll wind up there. The other part of my belongs in Spain . . . the Mediterranean coast . . . where some of my happiest childhood memories were built . . . another place I'd love to live again.

I hope that my girls will honor that request, but once I'm gone, I suppose it doesn't really matter, does it?

So that brings us back to how we decided where Grammy should go. She chose cremation, but she never gave us any instruction on what to do with her once that was completed. After a very lengthy discussion, the only place that Grumpy felt was going to be right was to take her back to the one place she loved the most . . . and she loved going to school . . . in her childhood home . . . in South Georgia.

At first we were a little dumbstruck about how to accomplish this since doing ANYTHING on school grounds requires permission from someone of importance! My cousin Karl advised against it . . . cameras now record everything . . . we could be arrested for trespassing!!

Happenstance changed it all . . . seems the original location of the school (the school had been torn down years before and a football stadium was built) was turned into a public park earlier this year. I guess it's a good thing it took us so long to make the trek . . . timing is everything. We all thought that would have made her happy . . . to know that she was "home."

2 Corinthians 5:1-10

5 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. ² We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. ³ For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.^[a] 4 While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ⁵ God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

⁶ So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸ Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

You're No Stranger to Hospitals

9 November 2017

Today was the big day: surgery

Since you started daycare in June, your little body has had a rough time fighting off infection . . . it's a common theme for newbies in that setting since nearly EVERY parent refuses to keep their sick children at home! A lot of moms and dads just can't afford to miss work, so they drop feverish kids off . . . all dosed up on Tylenol . . . and hope for the best.

It's rough, no doubt, but in the end, most kids in daycare build pretty tough immune systems!

You just haven't had the chance to really fight anything off!!

So today you had surgery . . . they put tubes in your ears and removed those pesky adenoids! Thankfully you came through it just fine . . . and you have the weekend to recover!!

I had mine taken out when I was 10 . . . along with my tonsils. While you suffered from one ear infection after another, I dealt with multiple strep throat issues.

We were in Spain at the time, and those medics (as they're referred to) have a reputation of being "butchers!" Maybe that's not really fair since they're educated and trained like other doctors, but most of those guys were trained for combat surgeries . . . not the routine care that kids need (remember that previous post about those shots we had to take before leaving for Spain?).

When you get your tonsils out, you're promised a lot of things that will make you "feel" better afterwards, and while promises of unlimited popsicles are doled out today, back then I was promised unlimited ice cream! Let me tell you . . . that excited me to no end!

Reality check: because we lived in Spain . . . on a military base . . . the hospitals and commissaries depended on regular shipments of goods. Guess what the hospital where my surgery was performed didn't get? Yeah, ice cream!! In lieu of that delicious frozen concoction, they brought me GREEN JELLO . . . fine it was frozen . . . it just wasn't ice cream!!! Disappointed is too kind a word.

After a couple of days in the hospital . . . just to be sure I'd be fine . . . they sent me home. The next morning I woke up in a pool of blood!! Maybe the surgeon didn't do a great job . . . maybe it was just a fluke thing . . . but the places where my tonsils once were burst. Everything turned out okay in the end . . . but still . . . no ice cream!

I'm so grateful your surgery went well. I get to stay home with you tomorrow; I do love spending time with you . . . no matter the reason.

"Everything heals. Your body heals. Your heart heals. Your mind heals. Wounds heal. Your soul repairs itself. Your happiness is always going to come back. Bad times don't last. Prayer helps." ~ Unknown

Candy and Fevers Don't Go Together

29 October 2017

Every year area churches do Trunk or Treat . . . "safe" Trick-or-Treating for kids. Our church is no exception, and we've been holding ours for as long as I can remember! I took your mom and her sister until they outgrew it, and now your mom has been decorating a trunk for a few years.

Last year you were too tiny . . . even though your mom actually had you out at church . . . I think she'd planned on something pretty cool . . . it's just hard to do that when you have a tiny baby to worry about so you spent the evening on her hip.

This year she decorated her trunk with stuff from the movie Trolls . . . one of your favorite movies . . . and she was dressed up as Poppy . . . the main character. You were supposed to be dressed as Branch, but she'd already found the Max costume . . . besides it would keep you warm on such a cold night! And it was adorable!!

The Captain and I took you around to do your Trick-or-Treating, but by the time we hit the last row, you were having none of it. We took you inside only to discover you were running a serious fever, and by 7pm we were in the ER with you!! Your dad showed up to take over . . . they didn't get you home until close to midnight!

An Unexpected Surprise

27 October 2017

Well, he popped the question! The Captain asked me to marry him!! Hit me right out of left field!!!

Oh, I knew . . . eventually . . . that it was going to happen. We've been seeing each other for more than 2 years now . . . I just wasn't expecting it to happen THIS weekend.

He made dinner reservations at the restaurant on top of McCloud Mountain and asked if I could leave work early enough to make it up there before the sun went down. I managed to get away from the office about 3:30 . . . hit bad traffic on the way home . . . finally got there about 4:30! He seemed a little distracted, but I didn't think much about it. We headed toward LaFollette about 5 . . . plenty of time before sunset.

It's such a beautiful place . . . a gated community with limited access . . . restaurant/resort on the property with a "skywalk" just down the street. I'd taken your mom up there a few years ago which is how I even knew about the place to begin with. The road up there is crazy curvy!! The view from the dining room is spectacular!!

It was chilly, but the sky was perfect . . . leaves showing their fall colors . . . clouds drifting across the horizon. We both took some pictures then had another couple take a picture of us. The Captain was taken aback with the beauty of the place and insisted we wait for the sun to actually go down, but with each minute that passed, I got colder and colder . . . until I was just ready to go . . . no clue about what he had in mind.

As the sun disappeared behind the last cloud, I turned to walk back to the car . . . toes nearly frozen . . . when he called me. Turning back around . . . a little annoyed . . . I watched as he dropped to one knee . . . presenting a small box as he did.

Left me speechless for a few moments . . .

. . . then I whispered a "yes."

This is a map of the view you can see from the restaurant:

Boys Who Visit

22 October 2017

I love when you drop by for a visit . . . especially on Sundays! Even after almost a year, I still have moments when missing my mom takes over . . . your presence calms that. I can only pray that her gentle spirit lives on in you.

In the quiet moments when you think about it, you recognize what is critically important in life and what isn’t. Be wise and don’t let good things crowd out those that are essential.” – Richard G Scott