For the greater part of this past week we were without Internet, as well as phone and cable. The lack of Internet was a source of pain for me. Well, maybe pain is too strong a word, but I did not like it!
This just illustrates how very spoiled I have become.
I don't think I am alone in this!
Many suffered much more loss and in much more serious ways.
Some lost all that they owned and some even lost their life or a loved one.
This puts my lack in perspective, big time.
This temporary loss was put to good use.
It seemed to me that Papa cleared my plate and with it went the many things that tend to distract me. He wanted me to be able to focus.
I did and now I have a short, fourteen day devotional to show for it!
The devotional is entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas. Yes, it is based on the Christmas song.
I will be posting it, one day at a time beginning on Christmas Eve.
If you read it, please give feedback!
It is something that Jesus put on my heart and has been a blessing to me, as I prepared it. I hope it blesses you too!
Those four paragraphs were written early on Monday morning and I expected to return to them to complete my thoughts the same morning. However, life has a way of getting in the way of our plans...
It is now Tuesday evening and I sit, once again, in the retirement facility that Ray's mom resides in. Since I walked away from my trusty laptop yesterday morning it has been a whirlwind!
A short while ago I asked Papa if I had erred in thinking that Ray and I were to make this visit. I think not, but I wonder over the opposition that has come along with it.
I had a list of what needed to get done before we headed to the airport yesterday. It came with a schedule that ensured all would be tended. Truthfully not much needed doing, or so I thought, and that is why I thought I would be able to finish my thoughts for this posting before heading to the airport at noon.
One thing on the list was to leave our sweet Sushi and Stir-Fry with a pan of clean litter. My honey is in charge of the daily cleaning, but any total change has to be done by me. It was going along well until I went to refill the pan only to discover that there was not much to refill the pan with!
Nothing had been written on the white board to indicate the need!
Sigh.
This meant I had to make a trip to the store. It also meant that I had to pay more than normal. I hate spending more than necessary, but I think it was necessary in this case.
Before I headed off to the store one of my sisters called and mentioned that a Nor'easter was coming on Wednesday.
This got me to thinking...
We never closed the porch up for the winter and if the storm decided to arrive in the form of snow, there would be a fine mess on the porch. Besides if the temperature was dropping a closed up porch cuts down on heat loss.
Closing said porch is not very time consuming, so we decided to do it.
However, Ray called me while I was at the store and told me to pick up something at the hardware store for the securing of the storm windows.
This meant another stop, but I figured I could do it quickly.
Unfortunately, the store did not have the items, so off I went further afield...
Arriving home I learned that I was suppose to get screws and I got nails, so back to the store I went. (Too many details to keep straight for this lady).
By the time we were actually putting the storms up I had lost an hour.
In the midst of a little hammering (don't ask) and the electric drill I heard a plaintive cry coming from the sofits.
Ray had brought Stir-Fry out with him and now the little guy (Stir-Fry, not Ray) had gotten spooked by all the noise. He likes to walk up in the rafters and explore the sofits, but usually comes down when called.
Not this time.
With his ears flat and a lot of crying, he would pull away when I tried to reach for him.
Our friend arrived to take us to the airport, which meant that there was now no way our furry guy was going to come out. He makes himself scarce the minute he hears a car pull into our driveway and does not come out again until it departs.
We had to leave, but I didn't want to leave our kitty out on the cold porch with no way in, so the sliding door was left open enough for him to come in.
I was glad that the heat loss to the porch would be limited since it was now winterized.
Whenever Stir-Fry gets into the sofits it causes concern on my part. I worry that one day he will fall through to the ground. Would it finally happen, now that we wouldn't be there to help him?
I entrusted the fur ball to his Creator and climbed into the car.
All went smoothly until about half way through the flight. That is when my stomach decided it wasn't happy.
I will not go into detail, but suffice it to say that the long line to the lavatory was my fault.....
All else was fine until we arrived.
I am happy to report that our luggage arrived when we did. The snafu came at the car rental place.
Though I had requested to pick up a car at the airport, there was a mix up and it was waiting for us about twenty minutes outside the airport.
It pays to stay calm and pleasant.
The young man behind the counter made the changes quickly.
The next snag was that they wanted to charge about five times the amount I had been quoted. Since it was through one of those travel sites and not the rental company, the price was not applicable.
I found it interesting that when I balked at the price, he was able to bring it down to within twenty dollars of my original quote.
Are you still reading?
I don't know if I would be...
We got the car and after realizing we forgot our GPS were very grateful for our phones which could access directions. It is not as convenient, but it
works.
I was getting a little tired and hungry, but just wanted to get to our destination. My tummy was making threatening noises again...
By the grace of God (Thank You, Papa!), we worked our way safely to this place. Though it was now dark the roads were well lit, for which I was very grateful. En route we were stopped at a red light when a police officer signaled me to open my window. I did not have my headlights on!
He was very nice. I hope it wasn't because I looked like some confused, senior citizen!!
I did have the daytime running lights on!
Upon arriving I went in search of something to eat. No food equals bad headache. I found a vending machine which offered peanut butter filled cheese crackers.
That was dinner.
My stomach did not receive them very happily.
After a brief visit with Mom I laid down for a minute and awoke the next morning.
Today's adventures included a bowl of cool oatmeal and equally cool toast.
This was followed with a drive to the nearby airport to drop off our rental. (We have use of mom's car.)
Mom followed to pick me up and we had a little adventure in the airport parking lot. (Mom gets confused very easily).
I did the driving from then on.
Next on the schedule was a brief stop at a store.
As I pulled into the parking spot something happened to the car's transmission.
Call AAA and give them the information. I did the talking as mom can't hear very well, especially on the phone. She kept getting confused regarding the information. I am grateful the AAA person was so patient.
Then we had to wait.
I need to mention that it was lunch time.
The arrival of the tow truck was a welcome sight. Even more welcoming were the young driver's words that he could get the car working for us, though just long enough to get to the repair shop.
Okay, no more with the long, drawn out story!
We got to the garage, discovered it would not be quick fix, rented a car and headed on our way.
I was hungry, but now it was closer to dinner than lunch, so I found a quick nibble and then headed back for a nap!
Since then we had a nice dinner and then I had the joy of playing bingo. Mom loves her bingo and would have been disappointed if I had abstained.
It was a challenge to stay awake!
I am tired and will be heading to bed shortly, but first let me just share why I am certain that the Good LORD meant for us to take this trip to visit mom.
If we were not here, the car would have broken down and Mom would have gotten very confused and upset.
We have been able to point out that because the car is beginning to need many repairs it is time to get rid of it, which she seems relieved to do. She also was agreeable to the idea of not replacing it. That is very good!
So we might have had a challenging couple of days, but could it be that our visit averts some serious future problems for Mom?
That, Papa, makes it all worth while!
This just illustrates how very spoiled I have become.
I don't think I am alone in this!
Many suffered much more loss and in much more serious ways.
Some lost all that they owned and some even lost their life or a loved one.
This puts my lack in perspective, big time.
This temporary loss was put to good use.
It seemed to me that Papa cleared my plate and with it went the many things that tend to distract me. He wanted me to be able to focus.
I did and now I have a short, fourteen day devotional to show for it!
The devotional is entitled The Twelve Days of Christmas. Yes, it is based on the Christmas song.
I will be posting it, one day at a time beginning on Christmas Eve.
If you read it, please give feedback!
It is something that Jesus put on my heart and has been a blessing to me, as I prepared it. I hope it blesses you too!
Those four paragraphs were written early on Monday morning and I expected to return to them to complete my thoughts the same morning. However, life has a way of getting in the way of our plans...
It is now Tuesday evening and I sit, once again, in the retirement facility that Ray's mom resides in. Since I walked away from my trusty laptop yesterday morning it has been a whirlwind!
A short while ago I asked Papa if I had erred in thinking that Ray and I were to make this visit. I think not, but I wonder over the opposition that has come along with it.
I had a list of what needed to get done before we headed to the airport yesterday. It came with a schedule that ensured all would be tended. Truthfully not much needed doing, or so I thought, and that is why I thought I would be able to finish my thoughts for this posting before heading to the airport at noon.
One thing on the list was to leave our sweet Sushi and Stir-Fry with a pan of clean litter. My honey is in charge of the daily cleaning, but any total change has to be done by me. It was going along well until I went to refill the pan only to discover that there was not much to refill the pan with!
Nothing had been written on the white board to indicate the need!
Sigh.
This meant I had to make a trip to the store. It also meant that I had to pay more than normal. I hate spending more than necessary, but I think it was necessary in this case.
Before I headed off to the store one of my sisters called and mentioned that a Nor'easter was coming on Wednesday.
This got me to thinking...
We never closed the porch up for the winter and if the storm decided to arrive in the form of snow, there would be a fine mess on the porch. Besides if the temperature was dropping a closed up porch cuts down on heat loss.
Closing said porch is not very time consuming, so we decided to do it.
However, Ray called me while I was at the store and told me to pick up something at the hardware store for the securing of the storm windows.
This meant another stop, but I figured I could do it quickly.
Unfortunately, the store did not have the items, so off I went further afield...
Arriving home I learned that I was suppose to get screws and I got nails, so back to the store I went. (Too many details to keep straight for this lady).
By the time we were actually putting the storms up I had lost an hour.
In the midst of a little hammering (don't ask) and the electric drill I heard a plaintive cry coming from the sofits.
Ray had brought Stir-Fry out with him and now the little guy (Stir-Fry, not Ray) had gotten spooked by all the noise. He likes to walk up in the rafters and explore the sofits, but usually comes down when called.
Not this time.
With his ears flat and a lot of crying, he would pull away when I tried to reach for him.
Our friend arrived to take us to the airport, which meant that there was now no way our furry guy was going to come out. He makes himself scarce the minute he hears a car pull into our driveway and does not come out again until it departs.
We had to leave, but I didn't want to leave our kitty out on the cold porch with no way in, so the sliding door was left open enough for him to come in.
I was glad that the heat loss to the porch would be limited since it was now winterized.
Whenever Stir-Fry gets into the sofits it causes concern on my part. I worry that one day he will fall through to the ground. Would it finally happen, now that we wouldn't be there to help him?
I entrusted the fur ball to his Creator and climbed into the car.
All went smoothly until about half way through the flight. That is when my stomach decided it wasn't happy.
I will not go into detail, but suffice it to say that the long line to the lavatory was my fault.....
All else was fine until we arrived.
I am happy to report that our luggage arrived when we did. The snafu came at the car rental place.
Though I had requested to pick up a car at the airport, there was a mix up and it was waiting for us about twenty minutes outside the airport.
It pays to stay calm and pleasant.
The young man behind the counter made the changes quickly.
The next snag was that they wanted to charge about five times the amount I had been quoted. Since it was through one of those travel sites and not the rental company, the price was not applicable.
I found it interesting that when I balked at the price, he was able to bring it down to within twenty dollars of my original quote.
Are you still reading?
I don't know if I would be...
We got the car and after realizing we forgot our GPS were very grateful for our phones which could access directions. It is not as convenient, but it
works.
I was getting a little tired and hungry, but just wanted to get to our destination. My tummy was making threatening noises again...
By the grace of God (Thank You, Papa!), we worked our way safely to this place. Though it was now dark the roads were well lit, for which I was very grateful. En route we were stopped at a red light when a police officer signaled me to open my window. I did not have my headlights on!
He was very nice. I hope it wasn't because I looked like some confused, senior citizen!!
I did have the daytime running lights on!
Upon arriving I went in search of something to eat. No food equals bad headache. I found a vending machine which offered peanut butter filled cheese crackers.
That was dinner.
My stomach did not receive them very happily.
After a brief visit with Mom I laid down for a minute and awoke the next morning.
Today's adventures included a bowl of cool oatmeal and equally cool toast.
This was followed with a drive to the nearby airport to drop off our rental. (We have use of mom's car.)
Mom followed to pick me up and we had a little adventure in the airport parking lot. (Mom gets confused very easily).
I did the driving from then on.
Next on the schedule was a brief stop at a store.
As I pulled into the parking spot something happened to the car's transmission.
Call AAA and give them the information. I did the talking as mom can't hear very well, especially on the phone. She kept getting confused regarding the information. I am grateful the AAA person was so patient.
Then we had to wait.
I need to mention that it was lunch time.
The arrival of the tow truck was a welcome sight. Even more welcoming were the young driver's words that he could get the car working for us, though just long enough to get to the repair shop.
Okay, no more with the long, drawn out story!
We got to the garage, discovered it would not be quick fix, rented a car and headed on our way.
I was hungry, but now it was closer to dinner than lunch, so I found a quick nibble and then headed back for a nap!
Since then we had a nice dinner and then I had the joy of playing bingo. Mom loves her bingo and would have been disappointed if I had abstained.
It was a challenge to stay awake!
I am tired and will be heading to bed shortly, but first let me just share why I am certain that the Good LORD meant for us to take this trip to visit mom.
If we were not here, the car would have broken down and Mom would have gotten very confused and upset.
We have been able to point out that because the car is beginning to need many repairs it is time to get rid of it, which she seems relieved to do. She also was agreeable to the idea of not replacing it. That is very good!
So we might have had a challenging couple of days, but could it be that our visit averts some serious future problems for Mom?
That, Papa, makes it all worth while!
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