My life really isn't any worse than anyone else's, and it is better than many people. I am fortunate to have a great family and loyal friends. So, what do I have to vent about???
Well, two weeks ago, I began to feel as though I was being challenged, by what I'm not sure. I'll save that for a different post, if I ever have time to write what is in my head. The thing is, I really didn't have time to deal with it. The week before, my husband was sent to Dallas, Texas for about five days. Yes, I said DALLAS, TEXAS. I am only in the minor league of OCD, but Ebola was in Dallas, Texas. Okay, so when my husband came back, I could just quarantine him in the travel trailer for 21 days. Problem solved.
Next up, my kids always want to go eat after church. With my husband out of town, I caved. AB had a shrimp appetizer and catfish poorboy sandwich. Before we could leave the restaurant, he had thrown up all over the bathroom floor. I mean ALL OVER. I immediately thought stomach virus. Darn him for biting his fingernails! Later in the evening I was proven wrong about my Dr. Mom diagnosis. He had a rash. Hmmmm.... Yep! This has happened before. Just a month before, he ate at Red Lobster with my brother and had the same symptoms. I gave him Benadryl, but the rash remained unchanged. So, I thought it must be something else. A friend's daughter had just gotten over Fifth disease. That's what the rash looked like. This time, I took him to the Doc-in-a-box to rule out anything viral or bacterial. He simply appeared to have an allergic reaction. I'm sure there are many people who can live their entire lives without eating shellfish. We ARE NOT those people. AB had a Crawfish Football Birthday Party when he turned 10. We took cooked crawfish to school for his Fourth Grade End of Year Party. He
AB with a lobster
Next up, I received some test results. They weren't horrible and yet, they weren't great. So, the first week of November, I find out more. This really is minor in the realm of all the things that happened that week. Problem almost solved.
The principal at LG's school scheduled a Fall Festival on the Thursday before the children were to be out the next day. That same night and time was the Homecoming parade. On Friday, we had parent-teacher conferences. My husband's 25th High School Class Reunion was that night. Our plan was to leave early the next morning to go to the Gulf Coast. We left in the morning, but it wasn't early. We spent a much needed week at the beach. Everyone survived, and the world continued to turn. Problem will likely repeat next year.
There is one other thing. While talking to my brother one day during that awful week, he told me that my stepmother has c.a.n.c.e.r. I haven't visited or called her like I should. You see, one year ago on Halloween while I was at her house with my kids Trick-or-Treating, she got the call that her son had a brain tumor. I called her periodically, and then I just stopped, partly because I was busy and partly because I didn't want to intrude. Then, for a period of time this year, I've simply been angry! Angry, because I need my parents, but they are gone. With her son sick, I felt like she didn't need my burden too. So, right now I feel horrible that I wasn't there for her. So, here I am angry again, but life goes on, at least for some. Not ready to deal with this problem.
During this awful week, I really didn't have time to let any of these things get me down, but by the end of the week, I was rather aware of the heavy burden that I was carrying. Many of these things, I simply put in God's hands. Other things, I realized weren't nearly as important as they seemed. Then, I saw this picture on a friend's facebook page. It was a timely message for me.
Now, I have to work on LG's Runway Fashion Birthday Party.
