I am a creature of habit, some good and some not so good. I have a plan laid out for every day. On certain days I clean one room and on others I tidy another. But on all days, I first sit on my back porch, my favorite place, and welcome the day and praise God, as He has given me one more chance to try once again.
I sit there in the early mornings and listen to the low mooing of the big black cows off in the dew-filled pasture lands, the tree frogs still awake from their night of serenading and hear the old white barn owl as he hoots his lonesome echo, and I am at peace. But over the past several weeks, my calming routine has been disturbed and unsettled.
My son-in-love has been in Memphis, Tennessee, on life support for the past two weeks, and before that in Jackson Heart Hospital with complete heart failure, so for the past couple months all of us have been on “heart alert.” I have spent part of my time there with my daughter and the rest here on the farm with our JoJo.
I believe if there is one thing that brings me to a feeling of helplessness, it’s that of seeing your child holding herself together for the family so that all of them can have a semblance of routine.
I can almost name the town associated with the mile markers along the interstate from here to Memphis, tell you the street names, the places to eat, and all the doctors’ names on the heart team at Baptist Heart. These things are alien to me and I don’t want to know them. They are foreign to my peace and calm yet necessary at this time.
This child by marriage, at 45 years old, has fought hard to live for the past several weeks and continues to fight, and we, I, will continue to keep my life on disarray until he wins this fight and is home once again.
How to make canned icing better:
Take one can of store-bought icing, any flavor, and beat with a mixer for 5 minutes until fluffy. Blend in two tablespoons of softened cream cheese and six tablespoons of softened butter. Chill for 15 minutes. This spreads beautifully and tastes so good.
