January 6, 2007

Twenty nine years ago was a special time for me. It was snowy and icy and electric was out for 2-3 days. I arrived at hospital at 4:30 am and thirty two minutes later Lisa Marie was born. She truly looked like a cherub with white hair and chubby cheeks. She was pretty from the moment she was born and did not look like a newborn. And her eyes were so alive and bright. She was truly my princess. From the first moment and ongoing, Lisa makes me smile. So today I wish Lisa all the love in the world. Happy Birthday Lisa Marie, next year is the big one....

January 5, 2007

The last few days have been busy. Wednesday, the first day of work after New Years we had snow. I heard the snow plow at 5:30 am and got up and went in early. Even after the plow the road out of here was snow covered. I got half way up hill and the back end of my truck started fishtailing. I tried not to let up on gas as I was afraid of getting stuck and having to back down hill. So the last half of hill I went up sideways and when the back end was wanting to pass the front end I had not choice but to let up on gas. The last 15 feet of hill I spun up, but I made it. I was a lucky one. Apparently a neighbor had a vehicle fire and called the fire department. Well one of the fire trucks slid and took out a good portion of guard rail and gut stuck over hill. So those that did not get out before 7:30 had to wait until around 10:30 when they finally had the firetruck towed out. Makes me wish there was another way out of our development at times like that. Wednesday night was WVU night and it was with delight that I watched them win the Fiesta Bowl. It was a good day for WVU and they haven't had many lately. I stayed up late to watch them win and finally went to bed after midnight. Thursday was snowy day and I had home calls all day. Karen was coming home from Honduras and she called me saying she was at airport in Honduras around 7:30am. I heard from her again around 10:30 and guess what? Yep she was still at same airport. They canceled several planes due to fog. Karen called at 1:30p and she was finally on plane wanting to take off. Take off was 4 and a half hours late. She made it to Atlanta and then to Columbus. She arrived at Columbus only 30 minutes later than originally planned at half past midnight. It was 12 degrees in Columbus and it was a rude awakening for Karen from warm Honduras. It was so good to see her smile. So there she was with a sunburn on her nose and as we traveled home from the airport the temps kept dropping. As we got to Athens area the temps were around 8-9 degrees. Brrr! As we were making the change from US 33 to US 50 the car in front of us lost control and went over the overpass. It was a nightmare. It became airborne and ended up on the road underneath us. I made a frantic 911 call and then made the difficult decision to go to crashed vehicle while waiting for emergency workers. With fear and trepidation I approached the vehicle which miracuolusly was sitting upright on the guardrail. The lady's head was covered in blood but she was conscious but dazed. Thankfully, the police was there within 5 minutes and ambulance soon after. To say that this was traumatizing to us all is an understatement. After filling out witness statements we were back on the road again but driving very carefully and saying lots of prayers. I hope the lady survived and is doing well. By the time we pulled into our driveway it was 3 degrees. Welcome home Karen. Oh and it was 4am by then. I got up for work a little after six but I had enough adrenaline from the previous night to keep me going throughout the day.
So as I have quiet time today and time for reflection, I am thankful. Thankful that I did go with Brian and Oliver to pick up Karen. Thankful that we were behind the wrecked car so that we could call for help. The road she landed on the patrol said was sparsely traveled and it could have been up to 3o or 45 minutes before a car might have found her wrecked vehicle. It was truly a God thing to see that her vehicle landed upright(minus a couple wheels). The vehicle was a jeep type vehicle with a cloth top. If she had landed on her top she would have had no chance of surviving. When I saw her vehicle go over the edge it was starting to roll to its left side. The drop was maybe 25 or 30 feet and her car landed upright. I can not explain this. It was clearly flipping over as it went over the edge but either completely rolled or the hand of an angel righted it before landing on its top. God is good. This incident reminded us of how temporary life is. I want to make the most of every minute of my life and not take anything for granted. I keep forgetting that this is a journey not the destination. So as I spend a quiet day I think thank God for my loved ones that they are safe and I am reminded that anything can happen in a split second. Tomorrow is the birthday of my first born. Happy Birthday Lisa. So continue with your journey but look up and hold the hands of those you love.

January 1, 2007

New Years Day; a good day to be lazy and watch a lot of football and eat all day. My kind of day. I woke up this morning with a phone call from Karen. She told me that she went to bed at 10:30p on New Year's Eve. That is really something when I can stay up later than my children. But then maybe her taking care of 15 children might have something to do with being tired. She will fly out of Honduras Thursday morning and it will be a long day for her. I can't wait to see her. Dorian is also going to Nicaragua on Thursday to visit his family. As I began my day, I rode the exercise bike for 2 miles and it felt like 20. Boy am I out of shape. It will get easier, right? My eating habits today have not been the best though. 2008 is the year to live out loud. Do you remember the song? Well that is my theme song for the year. I want to become more real in my day to day interactions with others.
Yesterday I forgot to mention another group of people that I am lucky to have in my life; My co workers. Terri is the most conscientious person I know. She always is willing to help out anyone else to the point of making me ashamed at times. Gabrielle is young and working with her is like working with my daughter. But her heart is so caring and she is willing to learn. Our unit takes care of each other and that is nice. I have another friend at work who amazes me; Ann has become a good friend in 2007 and I have come to depend on her. I am blessed to have these people in my life.
God has always given me special people in my life at each point in my journey. He continues to bless me daily. As I have thought about a new year and new promises to do better I am reminded of Cindy at Casa De Esperanza. Cindy ends up in a lot of trouble and she will tell you that she wants to be good but can't. When dealing with her you can get very frustrated and even foolish when she head butts you and knocks the breath from you. Today I am thinking of Cindy and how many times my Father is frustrated and listens to me say how I want to be a better person but keep messing up. And there are times that I actually hurt Him in my rebellion....But He still loves me and forgives all my wrong actions and he never give up on me. Thinking about Cindy and thinking about me, I think I try my rules more than she and it is ok. I mean when Cindy acts out I try to hide my frustration and love her no matter what. When she physically hurts me, I tell her I love her but it is sometimes hard not to let her see the frustration. So Cindy and I am pretty much the same; trying and wanting to do good but oftentimes caught up in past issues and wanting to feel in control and God gently forgives me everytime. God is good, all the time.
It is cold and snowing tonight and I am wondering how I can get my truck to make it out of development tomorrow am to go to work. I am thinking of all the clients I need to see and wondering if I can get to them in the snow. I am thinking ahead to tomorrow night when WVU is playing in a bowl game and can't wait to see them soar. The next day, I have a dentist appt. and then Karen comes home. Trying to sort out what to do when and how and when to celebrate Lisa's birthday on Saturday. So as I go to bed tonight, I pray that God will give me clear thoughts and let me focus on what I need to focus on. I pray that I can continue to stay focused and continue to exercise. I am somber too much and I want to smile more and whine less. I want to celebrate more and complain less. I want to love God and love those who God loves. Pray for me. and remember this is a journey don't forget to collect souvenirs along the way.