My Old, Familiar, Friend

It's been ages since I've written. Life's been chaotic and peaceful bound together by The Master's Hand. Coming back to this page is like meeting with that friend. You know, the one you haven't seen in a decade but pick up like you were never apart? That's how I feel here.

For so long I found comfort in my love of the craft, the movement, the flow of our written language. Arranging sentences, words, punctuation, is calming to my soul, my spirit, and to my mind that tends to get jumbled with life. Thoughts that tend to do nothing more that bounce through my brain can be put down, processed, examined, and prioritized.

The last month is a blur of events. There have been enormous blessings as in the birth of our beautiful granddaughter, hearing the excitement of my son's voice, and knowing he's totally smitten with both his wife and their first child.

There was the perfect celebration of the restoration of our marriage, and our 30th anniversary, trip that was beyond amazing. It was as if the stars were aligned and everything came together, as we believe, was God's plan. On that trip we found my husband the perfect replacement wedding ring. He lost his about 10 years ago and nothing we saw was "right," until the appointed time. The ring is a true testimony to our journey through hell and back and, to us, is yet another sign we have come full circle and are indeed in the place we were intended to be. The ring is big, bold, and beautiful. It was inspired by Ecclesiastes 4:12, "And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

It has a cross, an infinity sign, The Alpha, The Omega, and an onyx stone on each side of the cross that symbolize the two of us, held together by the Cross of Christ, and surrounded by The Alpha and The Omega that has held, and will hold, us together.

There have been health issues in our family that have had to be dealt with quickly, and there are more coming soon. One of my children is facing a situation that frightens this mom to the core. My husband was rushed into a life saving procedure and is doing well now.

I had double ear inner ear surgery last week that has apparently failed so I get to go through a more in depth surgery to repair that, as well as getting ready to go under the knife, and laser, of my neurosurgeon as soon as can be scheduled. To top it off we're still waiting on the results of the Holter monitor study I underwent. 

Yesterday and today I've been unusually emotional. Tears have run freely from the corners of my eyes and down the curves of my cheeks, my thoughts scattered, and sleepless nights endured. I thought it was the flurry of recent activity and the deep sadness this time of year brings.

Father's Day, my Dad's birthday, my severely mentally ill, homeless, son's birthday, the anniversary of the death of my Mom, and the birthday of our grandson in Heaven. Those are dates that seem to make this a difficult time for me personally.

Tonight, as I sat crying, for no apparent reason, it hit me that in the attempts to get me physically through until I can have the more challenging inner ear procedure done, the doctor put me on prednisone. A light bulb went off. Thank goodness it did as I felt I was coming undone. I researched the side effects because medications tend to affect me in strange ways. As I read through the literature I was finally able to understand where all this unusual concoction of emotion was actually coming from.

Although I'm sure this time of the year is affecting me, the "get you through," medication appears to be responsible for the majority of what I've been experiencing. Unfortunately prednisone is not a medication you can abruptly discontinue, it has to be tapered. Fortunately only two days remain.

It's unlike me not to read through side effects because of my strange reactions to so many in the past that greatly contributed to my erratic behavior in years gone by. I was fearful because it felt as if I was again on the brink. Which terrified me because I'm certain I'm in one of the best states of my life.

There's no drama, no negativity, no arguing, no mood swings, just peace, solidarity, and certainty in our lives these days. When the prednisone ends I know the effects will end. Then I'll get through the next two surgeries and we'll stand by our child that is facing a potential health crisis. We had to laugh at the words that were spoken after our baby's doctor's appointment yesterday, "You know what I was thinking during the exam? I know I may die, everyone dies and I'm ok with that. What was going through my mind was, 'Crap! This is going to be expensive!"

On the flip side, we've all learned that God does have us held tightly in His hands. It's all going to be just fine.

xo,