Treasures on Earth

I had an invitation last night to visit a friend who just found out she has breast cancer.  It was the end of a long week and typically I might have turned down the invite just because I was tired.  But in light of the new diagnosis I thought twice about missing the opportunity to cuddle up on her couch and do some heart to heart "girl talk", especially after she threw in the phrase  (jokingly) "No pressure if you don't want to come.... even though I do have cancer". 

It was a wonderful evening. We chatted about everything and nothing at all. We laughed and talked about what she is facing in the coming weeks and months.  I do not believe she is going to die from this cancer, but it does make me think about the choices I make. What if I had missed the opportunity to bask in her wisdom, laugh at her jokes and just relax with her like you do a good book on a rainy day?  What would I have gained had I chosen to be too tired?

Friendship is one of the most precious treasures we are allowed on earth. Friendships are not a dime a dozen, they are not easy to maintain and if for some reason you lose one it will leave an undeniable whole in your soul. Few things in life will add more texture, color and joy than the comfort of a friend. Every second you spend maintaining a friendship that can last a lifetime is worth every ounce of love you put into it, and the rewards will be like golden nuggets of pure sunshine in what can be a very dark and lonely world. How about your friendship? Have they been buried? You might want to dig them up, dust them off and put them back in the place they belong..... your heart.

How Much Do You Trust Me?

I got a phone call this morning (3 a.m.) from my daughter who is on deployment in enemy waters. When she joined the military she quickly found out that she was basically raised in a bubble. As I used to tell her when she would call home home "they call this area the bible belt for a reason". After catching up on the family and friend chit chat, she briefly began to describe where they are. "Mom, I don't know how to describe it, but when you go up on deck it's like there is this..... ominous feeling.... it feels like evil here". Then she mentioned that a couple of the ships in their fleet had actually been fired upon in the last couple of days. As I hung up from talking to her I turned to her Dad and told him what she had said. As he said, "She is where it all began and she is where it all will end". At that very moment fear threatened to grip my heart like never before, but it didn't. At just a couple of months old my husband and I stood before the alter where we both took our vows and gently cradled our first born in our arms as the ministered prayed his dedication prayer over her and our family. At that moment I gave God what I had always wanted.... my child. Since I was old enough to want to be something, I wanted to be a Mother. Giving birth was the greatest joy in my life next to watching those precious children grow into balanced, God-loving adults. That day standing at the alter I gave God my child, to have and to hold, to love and to protect all the days of her life. Do I trust him enough to know he protects her in the middle of the ocean? Do I trust him enough to know his hand will shelter her from all danger? Do I trust him with every breath she takes? I can shout a resounding YES, my God is able! There is a peace in knowing I am not the one in control. Am I concerned? Yes. But I will not fear. I will rest in the knowledge that God has everything in his perfect control and all I have to do is sit back and believe. Yes, my God is able, I trust him that much!

Feeling Better

I'm feeling much better today... guess I'm getting caught up on my sleep. I went to bed at 7:00 last night and I haven't been upset today at all. Got another email from my daughter and she sounded great. She received a couple of care packages. One of them had the letters my friend's 5th grade class wrote to her. She absolutely loved them. Another friend sent her several old movies and my cousin sent her a Navy bible. She was excited to get her presents. My husband is doing amazing!!! He is getting around so much quicker than the last time he had surgery. I'm excited for him and hope he feels like a new man soon.

Full Meltdown Mode!!

Yesterday was an absolutely horrible day. For one it's been a few days since I got an email from my daughter and the last one I got said they were taking her to the carrier to be checked out and they found out she had kidney stones (for 4 weeks). Then in addition to being worried sick about her I fought with the insurance company all day long about medication the hospital said my husband absolutely had to have to prevent blood clotting. They wanted me to just go ahead and pay for it out of pocket while they determined if they would pay for it and till they could get it mailed to us. That particular medicine cost over $5000.00. The doctors office told me to come to the office and they would give me a 10 day supply and I found that out with just enough time to make the drive (1.5 hr) before they closed. The stress, lack of sleep and everything came together to create the perfect total meltdown that resulted in me crying myself to sleep only to wake up this morning with puffy eyes and my sinuses feeling like they have every intention of exploding. The good news is, I got an email from my daughter and she passed the stone/stones. Her kidneys were very sore and stressed so the doctor gave her something to calm them down. She already feels better and may get to do some sightseeing in the beautiful place they have pulled into.

Update on Sick at sea

Got an email from my daughter early this morning. She said the dr. on her ship told her he was taking her to see the surgeon on the carrier as soon as they reached port. He told her he would be really mad at her if the surgeon couldn't find anything wrong. She isn't worried about that because a person dosen't throw up, run a fever and have severe abdominal pain for 4 weeks for no reason. Since a carrier has a full hospital onboard, I'm guessing if it is her gallbladder they will do surgery. I'm wondering if they will notify me if they do surgery. Email is my only communication with her and since she will be on another ship, I'm not sure she will be able to notify me. Oh well, time will tell. My other medical concern is my husband. Got him home today from his hip surgery. Of course this is day 2 post op so it was the most painful day for him. The 1.5 hr drive home was difficult for him but he did pretty well. Getting him in the house, unpacked and then to the bathroom for a bath, dressed and back to bed was EXHAUSTING!!! When he went down for a nap I ran to the pharmacy, had to get dog food and was ready for a complete meltdown by the time I got home. He has slept since I put him to bed this afternoon and I've been checking on him to make sure he's breathing cause he hasn't slept this well since we left for the hospital. It's about time for me to wake him up to give him his shot in the belly which I really dread. Luckily for me I talked the nurse into giving us a shot (blood thinner) to bring home with us. I took our prescribtion to the pharmacy and they couldn't fill it without authorization from the dr. Okay insurance company person (not a rocket scientist), a person has total hip replacement, has to have blood thinner to prevent bloodclotting, it's not only a weekend, but a holiday weekend, dr won't be in office until Tuesday and you can't authorize enough blood thinner to get us through a couple of days until he can fill out the paperwork he didn't know you would need to fill a vital prescribtion????? Really? This is the kind of thing that makes people want to go postal on insurance companies. Anyway, I'm exhaused, stressed, and pretty sure I see an early bedtime in my near future.

Big Ole' Bump

My bump took on a life of it's own this morning and I totally love it. Started reading the book "Staging Your Comeback A Complete Beauty Revival For Women Over 45". I'm just going to put this out there... they will have to pry my frosted eyeshadow out of my cold dead hands. Nothing I've read in any of these books has convinced me that you have to shun the sparkle when your sparkle begins to fade.

Sick At Sea

My daughter left several weeks ago for her first deployment. She has been sick for 4 weeks. First they said she had a kidney infection with fever and they gave her IV antibiotics. She continued to run fever and they said she had the flu, the next week they said she had bronchitis gave her an inhaler. She has continues to throw up, lose weight, not been able to eat and last night she woke up with severe abdominal pain, tender to the touch, medical thinks it may be gallbladder. I'm not understanding why they don't just fly her to the carrier to do some testing to see what the heck is going on. This Navy Mom is ready to row a boat out to the middle of the ocean take charge of a certain DDG!!