This is what I saw when I went to see the house yesterday. Oh, My! It almost touches the sky! I didn’t realize! I think the framework in and of itself is a beautiful thing. Look how precise each board is placed, at exactly the right angle. The look of the whole house depends on this. It amazes me how someone see this in their mind and can put it to paper and cause it to appear in real life. Probably because my mind can not see things like that. Ask me to write a song or a poem, or put together a program, and I’m your girl, but, don’t dare ask me to put wood to wood and expect it to stay! I say, “if you can’t glue it, don’t do it!”

How wonderful God is that He made us all with differing talents. He made some of us who know just exactly which plant will bloom where and what kind of light and water and fertilizer it needs. I put out a plant and if it dies I know it doesn’t go there. But, there are people who KNOW hese things. They know about zones and such. Some even attain such status as to be considered a Master Gardener!

There are those who can take a pair of scissors and cut slices of fabric into the oddest of shapes, then take them to a sewing machine and make a glorious creation worth thousands of dollars on the runway. I can still remember when I learned to thread my machine and sew a straight stitch. I was elated and felt like a real seamstress. That is still about all I can do. The bobbin thingy drives me crazy!

There are those that can put a little seed into the ground…a whole row of them actually, watch them sprout into vegetables, know exactly when to pick them, and are able to tell which one to shell and which to snap.( Aunt Marie, I really did think I had all the snaps in my pan!) Then take those beans in and cook them, adding in the perfect seasonings….serving them for supper with the perfect biscuits made from scratch….no measuring of anything! Tomorrow, taking the rest of those beans and canning them on the old stove in the kitchen to be eaten all thru the coming year. And doing the same with the peppers, and peas, and tomatoes, other things I forget. This is real cooking. And I have been so excited to find Steam Fresh Vegetables in the grocery stores lately that you just put in the microwave for a few minutes…zap it, and it’s ready…but it’s not the same.

There are those who can sit down at an instrument and become one with it. You cease to see that there are 2, you cease to see at all, you just hear the music…or rather, you feel the music. These people never have to look at the keys, they never have to worry whether a g# means 1/2 step to the left or right…they just know. It is part of their soul. They intuitivly know if the music is to be played pianoissimo or fortissimo…they FEEL it. I can play the piano, I took lessons for many years, and taught lessons for over 20 years…but I never felt that the piano and I became one. My sister, who is a superb pianist, is much closer to this than I will ever be. Our friend Pam, is there.

There are people who can actually take cars and motorcycles apart and put them back together again. All those little parts. Many, many parts. And, they HAVE to be in the right place or the vehicle will not move you. Each part does a different job and each part has many parts and they are all important and necessary. I have trouble getting my digital camera card out of the camera and into the computer and back into the camera again. I do it wrong every time!

I know this because I have seen it with my own two eyes. There are men and women who can open up your head and go into your brain to exactly the right spot and fix what is bothering you
and you can be well and whole again. They actually use a saw to cut a hole in your head! Then they glue it back, and soon all is well with you. I cannot put a bandaid on a cut with out the sticky sticking to itself before it gets on me!

Friend, God made us all different, and with different talents. It is a sad thing to me when I see that talents such as doctors or architects or lawyers are revered more highly than those with the talent for fixing your car or planting your yard or building your house. Why do we do this? Our society as a whole does it, and I think it is a shame! Personally, I think teaching should be the most highly esteemed profession….but what do I know? I’m just a teacher. Our beautiful world could not run as efficiently as it does if we did not have those who are skilled and talented in the ‘menial’ jobs. Could you fix your air conditioner when it goes out this summer? Do you know what to do when your whole front lawn gets an icky fungus? Would you know what to do with 4 hampers of peas…right now…to keep them from spoiling? Could you come and help the builders on my house…I really do want to be in by Christmas!!! 🙂

Are you in a stressed out state?……

Well it happens to all of us. Everyone has their own individual level of how much stress they can take, and how well (or not so well) they handle stress and pressure.

To determine how much mental stress a person can handle, doctors use a stress test which is made up of these three pictures. Look at each one and see what you notice about them. Don’t rush it, give each picture a full 30 seconds. It will help if you will click on each picture separately to enlarge and isolate it.



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OK…what did you notice? “Moving”, you say? You think the pictures are moving?
Are they moving fast or slow?
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WELL…they are NOT moving! No they really are not! But, you are not crazy.
You see, your brain is not able to focus on every aspect of the image, because it has too many corresponding sections, so it makes your eyes bounce back and forth trying to assimilate all of the visual data.

And it makes your brain subconsciously “frustrated”. The more the image appears to be moving, the more you can NOT handle being under a lot of stress and pressure. So, if it is moving fast, you’re not handling your stress well. If it is moving slowly, you are still in control. Whew!

It should be noted too, that people like criminals, (certainly none of my readers) and those who have very stressful jobs see the above three images as moving extremely fast, and everything is spinning crazily. Hope that’s not you. If so, you need a vacation! Most senior citizens and children see them as NOT moving at all.
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Just so you know…they DO move for me. The third one moves the most, but it still is pretty slow. Of course, I am not surprised, I’ve always known my brain was
subconsciously frustrated! 🙂 How’s yours?

Yep! That was me! When I left school yesterday, I had to go and see about getting the shirts printed up for my school programs. That is always mildly stressful because, I really am not an artist…I do a fairly good job of pretending, but it is work. So, when designing shirts that a whole school will wear and another for all the Moms, I want it to be just right. I always know in my head exactly how I want things to look, but I can not always get it transferred to the paper. One of the teachers at school, Courtney, is always ready to help me. She should be doing the whole thing actually, because, she is a real artist. Thanks for the help, Courtney! And, my dear friend and director at school Bonnie, has so graciously gotten me some help this year 2 days a week. Probably because she knew I was going to have a total meltdown and scare all the kiddies. But, now I have sweet Andi coming to help me and she is a dear! She is a mom to 3 boys and a real bundle of energy. And so opposite from me. Thank goodness! I am just so scattered , but Andi has got me or-gan-ized! WOW! She has gotten all my programs run off, put in folders, labelled, given out, parts run off, highlighted, given out,…she’s the best. And, she spent 2 days last week coloring flip-flops for me because I could not ever decide I liked the colors. So, she colored, and colored, and colored. She wants it perfect…I want it good. She wants it lined up in order, even numbers…I want it askew, and odd numbered. We make a perfect team! Thanks Andi! And, thanks Bonnie for being the most understanding boss anyone could ever have, always full of grace and mercy, ad kindness!
All that is not even what I was going to blog about. While I was there, Don called and said he was at the new house and I needed to come out there…now. So I did!
He was very concerned that Alex’s suite was not going to be big enough. That we had made it too small. And the more he talked, the more he convinced me. And by the time I left, I was in tears. Why had I not paid attention and made sure it was big enough? How did I let this happen? Now, I really do have complete faith in our architect. He is terrific and knows how important it is to us that Alex have a wonderful place to live. No one believes me, but I really do want this house as much for Alex as I do for myself! Anyway, how could Bill have drawn the plans too small? He knew what all Alex needed. I was in a high level of distress. Don called Alex and told him I left there upset and asked was I home? So, that got Alex upset. He does not want anything bothering his mama. I just drove. Turned off my phone and drove…for about 30 minutes, then headed home. Don called as soon as I got in and said we were to be back at the house to meet with Bill at 4:00. He would pick me up. I was not in any state of mind to go anywhere. But, when he blew the horn, I got in the truck. And off we went.
Bill was waiting for us. Don told him our concerns…well, he made me tell him our concerns. Then Bill patiently explained to us exactly how large the space really was, and just how he had designed it so everything would fit in just perfect. Alex will have a den, bedroom, kitchen and bath, and closet. A built-in bed and bookcase wall unit with lights and speakers. He will have a couch and 2 chairs, a desk and TV and table and chairs in the den. He will have a full size bathroom…all handicap accessible, so that if need be, he can use a wheel chair in every area.
All is well. It is turning out just like Bill designed it. It is Don and I who are freaking out! Actually, I think it is more Don than me, but don’t tell him I said that.
Finally made it home. Explained it all to Alex..and I went to bed. Alex had a very rough night and we were up several times. He was in terrific pain and could not get comfortable at all. I called in and did not go to work today because I was up so much last night. Say a prayer for Alex if you will…he really needs it.

I’m just saying.

After we got settled into a room, Beth and Don left to find a motel nearby. Don was so sick…throwing up and such. I really didn’t want him to be around Adam in case he was contagious. They immediately began working on Adam…more x-rays, blood work, scans, another 24 hour urine collection. The plans were for Mom and Pop and Don’s Mom to come up the next day. The surgery was scheduled for 6:00 AM. They were planning to be there by then. I met with the surgeon and liked him a lot. Adam was still sick from his ear infection and cold, and during the night, he spiked a fever of 103. After this, the DR. came back and said he would put the surgery off til the next day due to his high temp. So, I called Don and told him to just sleep in the next morning and called the family to tell them not to rush to get to the hospital.

As I sat there in that room, I prayed so hard. What was going on? Is this real? Am I dreaming? All I wanted to do was run…fast and far. I remember asking God to take control of this situation. I had my Bible and kind of clung to it like a life preserver. I would open it and read, and pray, and read…and wait. I asked God to tell me what to do…to let me know He was there…to save us from this nightmare. I wanted to hear His booming voice saying it was all taken care of. But, I didn’t hear that. I didn’t hear anything. I wondered what was to come…I wondered if God even heard what I was saying. I was not nearly as strong in my faith at that time as I am now, and this was a sure test of that faith. Finally, I dropped off to sleep, and at about 6:00, the surgeon came in. “Mrs. Owens”, he said, “I have a feeling that I need to operate on your boy…now! I never operate on a child with fever like this, but my gut tells me to get in there now. Will you give your permission.” Well, what a way to wake up! “I have spent the greater part of the night praying”, I said,”so if you feel that strongly, then I feel like the Lord is leading you.” So, I gave permission, and he picked up my little boy in his arms and off they went…down the hall, onto the elevator…and away. Just like that. I had no time to call Don, or family, or God. I had to make a decision right then and there and pray it was the right one. What a feeling it was to be there and know my baby was in a fight for his life. They had told us the night before that his type of cancer…ganglioneuroblastoma…was usually discovered during the first year of life…the later it was discovered, the greater the likelihood that it had spread. They said we would be lucky to have him for a year. A lifetime can not be crammed into a year.

I quickly called Don and Beth and the parents, and they spread the word. They all began to make their way to the hospital. I had to give up our room and go to the intensive care waiting room to wait. All our belongings packed up, and moved with me, into a little room that came to be a “hell on earth” to me. This was in 1978, so the smoking rules were non existent. This dungeon like room was dark and had chairs all along the outer walls and a row down the middle. There was very little room to walk. Some of the people had been staying there for weeks, so they had little homesteads set up. People asleep on the floor, in chairs…and more than half of them smoking. No windows in this room….just a coffee machine, 2 televisions, about 30 people, 1 pay telephone, and enough cigarettes to circle the globe. I have never been so miserable in all my life. And, there was no other place to wait unless you sat on the floor in the hall. When they would go get food the odors of the food would float on the smoke and stay there for hours. Hell-on- earth. But, this was the only place we could stay for the next 4 days. So we did. These people were in the same position I was. They were hurting, too. Their children were fighting for life just like mine. Being so young myself, there was much I didn’t know about human nature. Things like desperately ill children can bring out the worst in people and families…or it can cause you to cling together and draw strength from each other. It causes some to lose every bit of dignity they have. Some lose all restraint, and don’t care what they say or do…or who is nearby. What I observed those days sitting in that waiting room taught me much about people…a real lesson in life.

Don got to the hospital while Adam was still in surgery, so he was there when the dr. came out to tell us the news. He said, “When I opened Adam up, I could see the tumor. It was on the adrenal gland. It was visibly bulging and could have burst at any moment. I think we got it out still encapsulated. But, if we had waited another hour or two, it would have been too late. He could have died from the tumor bursting, and if not it would have sent the cancer all over his body. We did the right thing.” Friends, I hugged Don, I hugged the Dr., and I sent a hug right up to God! It was so evident to me that I had just seen God at work. This was the first of many, many lessons I would learn about letting God be God and following His will. The first of many.

Adam went straight to ICU, and when we went to see him, he looked so pitiful…my heart was torn in two. He had no clothes on and was crying for someone to put his diaper on. He was not completely potty trained and still wore a diaper at night. He had 2 drains coming from his abdomen, a tube down his nose and IV in both arms. Now, he was and had always been a thumb sucker. He arms were restrained and he was unable to get to his thumb. All he would say was ,”Put on my diaper or give me my thumb.” I got the nurse to give me a diaper and I laid it open on top of his bottom. They could not put it on him because of the incision. But that satisfied him. Then they let me hold him and while I held him, he could suck his thumb. What a comfort for him. When they found out that I was a nurse, and was not going to freak out , they moved him into a little side room sort of by itself, so that I could stay with him more. When the Dr. came in, a few hours later, Adam said, “please give me my thumb.” The Dr. looked to me and I asked Adam if he would promise not to pull at the tube in his nose. I told him if he did we would have to tie his hands back down. “I pwomise, Mommy”, he said. We untied his hands, and he never once tried to pull it out. Boy that was the best medicine in the world for him at that moment. He was able to sleep and rested quieter for the rest of the time. We spent the next 4 days there…parents, family, friends…pulling together for the life and well being of this little boy. Watching God work,,,feeling the strength only He possesses…knowing the peace that only He can give.