It has been years since the wood burning stove has been used at the cabin, so I had appointment to meet the chimney sweep up there this morning. I was glad that mom decided to come too. It was a beautiful clear day and the mountains were stunning with a layer of the first snowfall of the season. The chimney sweep was super nice and helpful. He even agreed to let me take a video of him as he explained the best practices of using the stove. I wasn’t sure when it was installed, but found the instruction booklet with some notes and a receipt for a cleaning done in 1991. In our conversation, he said things that really struck me such as, “We can only move forward,”and “Our world puts too much emphasis on money,” and “I loved hearing my 95 year old neighbor tell stories of the past.” After he left, mom and I had lunch and she laid down for a nap under the blanket with angels on it. When she woke up, she said she had the best sleep in a very long time. Since she was feeling so good, we decided to stop for Mass in a newer church in one of the towns on the way home. Mom had been wanting to see it. When we arrived, we parked in the handicapped spot and made our way to the entrance. The church was set on a hillside. To reach the main door, there were 4 sets of stairs. We looked further and realized there was also a handicapped ramp that zig-zagged 4 times across the front to get to the entrance. Mom had her walker, so we started up. It wasn’t long before she had enough. I made the comment that the ramp makes handicapped people walk 4 times further than anyone else. A woman heard me and said that there was a wheelchair. She went in and a young man came out with the wheelchair. We got mom all set and he wheeled her in. The church was very modern and very nice. Mass was beautiful, because it was Mass. The people were super nice. After, the young man wheeled mom all the way down the ramp while I pulled the car closer. Mom was pretty happy about that. As we drove home, we talked about how every new thing we do is always an adventure. I congratulated mom for participating in another big day.

A strange bonus,when we got back home, I told my sister the story of the chimney sweep. She went downstairs and came back up with a note that my dad had written. It read, “Wood burning stove installed Oct. 1989. She had just come across the note today.

I Found God today in another adventure of a day.