Currently Listening Pipers Dance By Ballycastle see related

Where in the world was Mama T.?

Well, I've been to Europe and back, tasting all the fine cuisine and wines along the way, and wishing that I could somehow bring it all back home with me. 

Still working @ PregnancyCare, serving @ church, trying to love my heart so it will love me back, looking for ways to connect with my neighbors, and following the escapades of the rest of my family, especially my motorcycle riding spouse. 

We were impacted by Hurricane Ike, lost power for 72 hours, had a cookout on the front lawn, learned to love candles and the dark, and find time to enjoy the silence.  It's amazing how wonderful it sounds when there are no airconditioning or refrigerator motors running. 

People keep asking me to buy mail order baskets and mail order cookware.  Sometimes I even get asked to buy mail order "gourmet" candles.  At least Tupperware has been silent for a while.  Overall, just give me an LLBean catalog, a credit card, and I am happy.

My anniversary and Christmas are right around the corner...  

Currently Reading The Scarlet Thread By Francine Rivers see related

Perseverance produces character

Life is quite a ride, and youth has no lock on the measure of intensity.  It only intensifies with the passing years, but not necessarily in the ways we would have planned.  Sometimes it rushes forward so fast that it can only be appreciated in the rearview mirror.  We must grab each moment, even when we're tired or it seems inconvenient, give thanks for it, and gain wisdom from it.  Experience is no substitute for wisdom.  And because images in the rearview mirror are not as pleasing as those right in front of us, we must cultivate intentionality and learn to live IN the moment.  It's not easy.  I hope to master it. 

Since my last post, I have been blessed to be alive.  My ministry at my job is continuing to challenge me, which is good, and it also forces me to see life through different lenses and viewpoints.  It's unsettling as I witness what I believe to be the decay of family life as it once existed.  The Bible seems to support a two parent nuclear family, and in their hearts, my clients do, too.  But to live it out on the streets and inside their situations is a whole different matter.  It brings me sadness, but as life is cyclical, I am hoping for a generation to come which says "Enough is enough."

Papa T. is living with a bad back but always pushing forward with a great attitude.  I am living with the prospect of facing doctors every three to six months, but I am praying for continued health and victory over disease.  Right now, I feel good and I press onward toward the prize.

It's a new school year, we've had a wedding, a 25th wedding anniversary, birthdays, trials and triumphs in my church family, a child studying abroad, a child in grad school, spiritual growth in several dear "sisters", a scare @ a medical check-up, disappointments with a "spiritual" daughter, an engagement, and a death.  It's all part of the ebb and flow of life.

So that's my post.  Who knows when I'll post next.  It's always a pleasure.  But for now, I must bake the bread and keep the home fires burning.

Currently Reading Bethesda By Paul Nigro see related

Yes, it's time to update.

So much has happened since my June post, but most of you who read this already know all the details. 

Even though I'd like the cancer experience to be in the past, doctors seem to want to stay "in touch", especially my surgeon.  My radiation oncologist promises that our relationship will soon come to an end.  Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow.  Even though my worrying produced no tangible results, God was once again faithful and led me to a wonderful medical oncologist for follow up.  She spent 1 1/2 hours getting to know me and my case and suggesting some next steps.  I have been somewhat resistant to her suggestion of long term hormone suppression therapy because of its side effects.  I figure, if it's naturally occurring in the body and actually belongs there, then is eliminating it for some uncertain goal really a good thing?  After all, statistics have not been my friend.  If the stats say I'm in the 1% risk category and I become a statistic, then the stats mean nothing, except that maybe I should play the lottery.    So I will be having another meeting with her in a couple of weeks.  Wish I didn't have to make this decision.

Well, Abby and Max are back at their respective universities.  Max is adjusting to Ohio University and has a great place to live and study.  He has selected some great classes and I suspect he'll shine in this endeavor.  Strangely enough, he has to take three courses of grad level French to receive his M.A.  What a hoot!  Just when you think it's all behind you, it sneaks up and bites you. 

Papa T. will be riding the Blue Ridge Parkway on his new motorcycle at the end of this month.  I was hoping to do something equally exotic, but alas, I'm being asked to work because we are once again short handed at work.  Then I discover that Abby is being honored on Sept. 29 because of being on the Dean's List all last year, and I can't go see her being honored.  It's also Parent's Weekend @ Ball State and I'm stuck in Cincinnati.  Boohoo.  Oh well, there must be a reason.

Seasons change and so do we.

Anyone for Tic, Tac, Toe?

Well, as I said last entry, life is certainly not boring, but it's also very uncertain. 

Our youth pastor has been in ICU for the past week fighting for his life with an unidentified strain of pneumonia.  Prior to this, he had been fighting an infection for over a week when suddenly, and I mean suddenly, it went to critical mass.  Within hours, his organs began shutting down and his blood pressure dropped rapidly.  Suddenly it was a life and death situation as his body went into sceptic shock from the invading infection.  However, in the initial hours, even as we prayed, I just had an unexplained peace and confidence(which never seems to happen when it concerns me).   God had engineered for him to arrive @ the hospital at just the right time.  He was seen by just the right people, and the correct decisions were made at the proper intervals.  It was oh so frightening, but I believe it illustrates how God uses illness and suffering to reveal His glory and to bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  After all, medical technology is only half of the equation.  I feel sorry for those who think it's the whole equation.  

And speaking of medical technology, I spent several hours on Friday having X's and O's marked all over the right side of my chest and underarm in preparation for being "zapped" on Tuesday when I begin my six weeks of radiation therapy. The therapy is supposed to give the cancer a less than 5% chance of recurring.  My recovery from surgery has been very easy and smooth, except for a little soreness.  I am trusting and hoping for an uneventful six weeks of therapy.  My big decision is whether to see a medical oncologist to decide if any further treatment is necessary, in particular, long term drug therapy. 

Abby called her dad the night before Father's Day!!  She says that she is healthy and having a wonderful experience in East Asia.  We know that our main Father is taking good care of her.  I'm looking forward to all the tales and pictures she'll bring home.  (Her camera has been broken because sand got caught in the lense.)   Keep covering her with prayer;  it works!

Speaking of prayer, I'm praying for rain and relief from the heat!

Currently Reading A Merry Heart (Brides of Lancaster County #1) By Wanda E. Brunstetter see related

Just a quick note before bed, zzzzzz....

I got my stitches out today (ouch!), talked to the surgeon who repeated the good news of all areas around the nodule being benign, and made my initial appt. for mid June to confer with the oncology radiologist and be "marked up" for subsequent radiation, lasting about 6 weeks, everyday!  Life is never boring, but I know that God is extremely faithful, even when I am faithless.  The best parent ever!

My lovely Abby called again from the far East to see how I am doing.  That was so sweet.  But I didn't want to spend precious minutes talking about me, so I steered the converstaion to how she's doing.  In a word, she's doing great, having a wonderful experience, and feeling energized.   I couldn't ask for more.  God is good.