Finding the Gifts

I spent many hours with my father in the emergency room last Friday night and, like the last not-long-ago visit, all of the tests showed that whatever is messing with my father’s memory is Not Fixable.  It was a difficult and confusing evening for him, and so I considered it a blessing when my mother told me that the next day he did not remember the e.r. visit.

And then he called me Saturday night. I was impressed that the fog had cleared long enough for him to dial me.  It took me a couple of moments to piece together the gist of the conversation, but, had he been fully able to verbalize, it would have been this:  “Sal, your mother told me that we were in the emergency room last night, and I just wanted to check on how you’re doing. I don’t remember why we had to take you, but I hope you’re better.”

Aww. For all that is going on for him, he is still my Daddy, taking care of his girl.  My heart was and continues to be deeply touched.

I was out there again this morning, my parents’ 59^th anniversary.  Mom was getting dressed and needed my Dad to put in her hearing aid.  “Ed, you’re the only one who can put it in right.” When she gave it to him, he started fumbling with the device itself, looking to fix some unknown broken something.  “No, Ed, put it in my ear.”  And saying something that must have made sense to him, he reached over to her and some internal memory kicked in, and he placed that hearing aid in her ear the way that only he could. And she looked at him and smiled, and he smiled back at her, and I almost had to look away at the intimacy of their gaze. 

For all that is going on, they are still sweethearts, even after 59 years of marriage. 

We don’t know what the future holds, and that is true for each of us and not just my parents. About the best that any of us can do is to celebrate those moments that are gifts of love.

Real Estate

Nature is so beautiful.  This morning, as I ate breakfast, I watched hummingbirds at the feeder, mallards in the pond, and a great blue heron swoop overhead.  I haven’t managed to kill the plants around my house yet, so I enjoyed looking at all of the blooms as I walked the dog. As I drove to church through the lakes, shore birds flew around as fishers tried their luck.

I realize I haven’t been blogging much lately.  My parents have had some life-changing health crises that have taken much of my time and energy.  There have been many things that I could have blogged about, since I am the only nearby child.  However, as much as these things have taken up real estate in my head, it somehow feels like an invasion of their privacy to write about the effects of their stuff on me. 

I’ve thought about a lot of things. General Conference.  The fact that being a woman in ministry still causes bumps in the road, even in this day and age.  Silly stuff my dog does.  Profound things my husband says. Watching my children grow into full adulthood.  There are times when a germ of a thought starts to sprout, and I begin to compose in my head or on paper.

And then the phone rings with another parental need, and any semi-readable thoughts I may have had skitter away as I shift back into a life of trying to help in a near-helpless situation that so many, many others have faced before.

In all of these things, I am so very grateful for the piece of the world that I am privileged to inhabit. The flowers bloom and the birds swoop overhead and I am reminded of the Creator who loves us enough to craft such world for us.  I am refreshed and renewed.  And thankful, even for times such as these.