Home at last! (Or at least, back to Rochester where all my stuff is). I had left the apartment bereft of food supplies, seeing no need to stock the shelves before heading out. There were other more important things to see to.
We arrived home around noon. Kiel had been right. It was a mere 2 hours to Rochester. But so much easier to navigate in broad daylight without the snow. We unloaded the car, picked up Christmas gifts my sister had brought here from Mom's, then headed to Wegmans for a shelf stocking party.
I ask the question: What do you want for dinner? It is, after all, New Year's Eve. We should do something special. The boys decide on steak, baked potatoes, brussel sprouts, sparkling grape juice, and cream puffs for dessert (the cheesecake is too expensive).
Wegmans is packed to the gills. Every single checkout is manned with lines stretching down the aisles. The parking lot is so full you have to circle for minutes before someone pulls out to make space for you. You could spend a whole day and a million dollars here and get anything your heart desires, regardless of the season. It seems somehow amazing that I have access to all this wonderful food. I have had seasons of lack in my life. I have supported food banks from both sides, donor and recipient. But here I am in a season of sufficiency, making choices about food based on desire and not need. How great is that!
I am happy to gather up the bags of food we have selected and head home for a feast. What a wonderful place we live in. I neither planted nor tended nor harvested these things, but I will TOTALLY enjoy them. Yes, I will pray for those in need too. May God be as gracious to them as He has been to me. And may I be a bit more generous in my next check to Samaritan's Purse for those needing the blessing.
A wonderful conclusion to a productive year of good recovery.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Long Drive Home
Good thing we decided to leave on Sunday. It was pouring down rain when we packed the car. I purposely didn't leave early, just in case there was black ice to deal with anywhere. After all, we were taking the PA route home, an easy 12 hour jaunt. And the boys had stayed up late the night before playing games and being rowdy. I had a bit of trouble falling asleep, and I wanted to make sure I was fully charged before heading out.
Mostly, the trip was uneventful, other than the rain, and we made good time. Pennsylvania is one huge slant - from our direction, uphill all the way. The weather waited to get nasty until we were well into the mountains, and far from the beaten trail. It was already sleeting when darkness enveloped us, but I kept thinking that we would be on the downside of things and exiting the higher elevations soon, so I forged ahead.
The road kept going up, up, up. The sleet and freezing rain turned to snow, and then blowing snow. Not much accumulation, but certainly greasing the roadway. Two lanes turned into two tire tracks. We crawled along, inching our way through the dark night, fearful of sliding into a ditch. Not much traffic on this road, and no street lights. No sign of salt and sand trucks either.
It was a good hour before despair set in. I had been clutching the steering wheel with a death grip for so long that my hands ached. I tried to relax, but it took all my focus to stay on the road. After two false alarms of starting to head downhill only to find myself climbing higher and higher in altitude, I finally gave up all hope and decided to find a hotel room for the evening. That's no easy feat in the mountains of PA. There aren't many exits, and few of them offered even gas let alone a hotel.
Prayers had been rolling from my lips for a good half hour before we saw a sign for a Comfort Inn. Kiel thought me crazy to stop. By his calculation we were only two hours from home. He wanted to push through. But I was at the breaking point. We stopped. I was physically shaking as I registered. I had been this stressed once before, long before cancer days. I wondered how it would play out. Last time I had sat in a tub of warm water for an hour, tears streaming down my face, before the shaking stopped.
This time, my arm was killing me from the pinched nerve, and my energy had long since evaporated. My boys never complained. But you could tell they were doing their best to humor me. Ah, well. We do what we can and let the rest go. I went to bed immediately. They stayed up a bit to watch TV.
As I lay there waiting for the shaking to subside (which it did within minutes), I realized how like cancer this nightmare drive is. The conditions are adverse and demanding, the way is dark, you have no idea how long it will last or whether you will end up in a ditch somewhere without help. You have no choice but to go on. You can't stay where you are or you will perish. You are pretty much alone in the struggle to keep the car on the road. Its definitely an uphill climb and though you hope and pray for the downhill part, it doesn't come. If you are lucky, you find a reprieve to give you time to regroup. And if you are really blessed, the morning light comes and with it, a chance to move on.
Thank God for both!
Mostly, the trip was uneventful, other than the rain, and we made good time. Pennsylvania is one huge slant - from our direction, uphill all the way. The weather waited to get nasty until we were well into the mountains, and far from the beaten trail. It was already sleeting when darkness enveloped us, but I kept thinking that we would be on the downside of things and exiting the higher elevations soon, so I forged ahead.
The road kept going up, up, up. The sleet and freezing rain turned to snow, and then blowing snow. Not much accumulation, but certainly greasing the roadway. Two lanes turned into two tire tracks. We crawled along, inching our way through the dark night, fearful of sliding into a ditch. Not much traffic on this road, and no street lights. No sign of salt and sand trucks either.
It was a good hour before despair set in. I had been clutching the steering wheel with a death grip for so long that my hands ached. I tried to relax, but it took all my focus to stay on the road. After two false alarms of starting to head downhill only to find myself climbing higher and higher in altitude, I finally gave up all hope and decided to find a hotel room for the evening. That's no easy feat in the mountains of PA. There aren't many exits, and few of them offered even gas let alone a hotel.
Prayers had been rolling from my lips for a good half hour before we saw a sign for a Comfort Inn. Kiel thought me crazy to stop. By his calculation we were only two hours from home. He wanted to push through. But I was at the breaking point. We stopped. I was physically shaking as I registered. I had been this stressed once before, long before cancer days. I wondered how it would play out. Last time I had sat in a tub of warm water for an hour, tears streaming down my face, before the shaking stopped.
This time, my arm was killing me from the pinched nerve, and my energy had long since evaporated. My boys never complained. But you could tell they were doing their best to humor me. Ah, well. We do what we can and let the rest go. I went to bed immediately. They stayed up a bit to watch TV.
As I lay there waiting for the shaking to subside (which it did within minutes), I realized how like cancer this nightmare drive is. The conditions are adverse and demanding, the way is dark, you have no idea how long it will last or whether you will end up in a ditch somewhere without help. You have no choice but to go on. You can't stay where you are or you will perish. You are pretty much alone in the struggle to keep the car on the road. Its definitely an uphill climb and though you hope and pray for the downhill part, it doesn't come. If you are lucky, you find a reprieve to give you time to regroup. And if you are really blessed, the morning light comes and with it, a chance to move on.
Thank God for both!
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Red Clay
Talk about making an impression! I got up early to inspect DJ's back forty. OK, back 3. He has a nice spread of land behind his house, carefully "mowed" by his two goats, Kanga and Tigger. In the summer the grass grows tall and wavy. Now, its short and stubbly and slopes down towards a land fill out behind their house. There is a roadway back there, and I thought it would be interesting to wander back and see what was there.
It had been raining earlier, and the road was sloppy. The land is mostly red clay, and when wet, you can sink in just like quicksand before you realize how deep you are in! My white sneakers were soon caked with the think red clay, and I was just trying to find some grass think enough to wipe it off on when DJ came back from giving a riding lesson.
I walked over to his car and we chatted as I followed him into the house. Big mistake. There was still clay caked on my sneakers, and even though I took them off at the front door, I saw to my dismay that I had left globs of red on the entry floor. Not the impression I was hoping to make. No time to take care of it, Katie is crying and in need of attention.
I barely managed to get to the rocking chair before DJ deposited the wriggling bundle in my arms. What is there about babies that's SO wonderful? They smell great, even when its poop and sour spitup smell. They cry as if you are torturing them and stop only to throw up on you. But we LOVE them so! I wager you can smell the baby powder right now.
I had so little time to spend with Katie that I grabbed every opportunity to hold her. I am sure Shannon was gritting her teeth as I spoiled her rotten, knowing she would have to straighten it out after I left. The bestest bestest moment of the entire visit was when I was sitting on the couch holding Katie, and Kelly was snuggled up next to me watching a Veggie Tales DVD. Kelly wrapped her little hand around my arm and leaned her head against my shoulder. At that very moment, Katie opened her eyes, looked deep into my eyes, and SMILED. She cooed away for a few minutes, then drifted back to sleep.
How wonderful is that? Pure straight love and trust. Untainted relationships. A beginning of a hopefully long relationship. And GIRLS! Gorgeous, beautiful, gentle, delicate, intelligent and gracious girls! Life is good. Days from now I will look down at my red tinged sneakers and remember this moment and smile. These girls have definitely left an impression on my heart. I hope it stays in place a whole lot longer than the red clay footprints I left behind.
It had been raining earlier, and the road was sloppy. The land is mostly red clay, and when wet, you can sink in just like quicksand before you realize how deep you are in! My white sneakers were soon caked with the think red clay, and I was just trying to find some grass think enough to wipe it off on when DJ came back from giving a riding lesson.
I walked over to his car and we chatted as I followed him into the house. Big mistake. There was still clay caked on my sneakers, and even though I took them off at the front door, I saw to my dismay that I had left globs of red on the entry floor. Not the impression I was hoping to make. No time to take care of it, Katie is crying and in need of attention.
I barely managed to get to the rocking chair before DJ deposited the wriggling bundle in my arms. What is there about babies that's SO wonderful? They smell great, even when its poop and sour spitup smell. They cry as if you are torturing them and stop only to throw up on you. But we LOVE them so! I wager you can smell the baby powder right now.
I had so little time to spend with Katie that I grabbed every opportunity to hold her. I am sure Shannon was gritting her teeth as I spoiled her rotten, knowing she would have to straighten it out after I left. The bestest bestest moment of the entire visit was when I was sitting on the couch holding Katie, and Kelly was snuggled up next to me watching a Veggie Tales DVD. Kelly wrapped her little hand around my arm and leaned her head against my shoulder. At that very moment, Katie opened her eyes, looked deep into my eyes, and SMILED. She cooed away for a few minutes, then drifted back to sleep.
How wonderful is that? Pure straight love and trust. Untainted relationships. A beginning of a hopefully long relationship. And GIRLS! Gorgeous, beautiful, gentle, delicate, intelligent and gracious girls! Life is good. Days from now I will look down at my red tinged sneakers and remember this moment and smile. These girls have definitely left an impression on my heart. I hope it stays in place a whole lot longer than the red clay footprints I left behind.
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