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Best Therapist Ever

Posted by eph21920 on September 19, 2019 in Doctor, Fun, Hurt, Laughter, Life

During the past 3 years, my mom has been to physical therapy for various reasons. Whenever she has hurt something or is recovering from an illness, we go back to the same therapist. She truly is amazing. We say she has magic hands as she knows exactly how to manipulate the area that gives my mom problems. We joke that we would like to have her live with us, though we probably really mean it deep down inside. Today she watched my mom walk and told her why she thought her back was hurting. She tested her theory with my mom on the treadmill. She did seem to be correct. When my mom thought about walking the way her therapist instructed, her chronic back pain was nonexistent. She always encourages my mom who does more than she thinks she can. We have fun conversations and laugh a lot as well. To top things off, today a man came around with snacks for the employees. The therapist gave hers to my mom. It was a giant chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich. My mom enjoyed it tremendously.

I Found God today in my mom’s amazing physical therapist.

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Back to Class Again

Posted by eph21920 on September 18, 2019 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Healing, Sick

After 2 months of recovering from her latest bout of diverticulitis, my mom finally made it back to her Parkinson’s exercise class. Everyone there was so happy to her. She took things at her own pace, but kept going for the whole hour. One more time, she amazes me.

I Found God today as my mother continues another recovery.

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Church Offers

Posted by eph21920 on September 17, 2019 in Answer, Death, Faith, Friends, Grateful, Tradition

I met with some friends today and we got on the topic of Catholic funerals. We talked about the beauty of the traditions and customs of the Church. Typically, funerals begin with praying a rosary, then a full Mass. I thought of 2 specific priests who sang the final blessing as the deceased is taken out of the church. It was incredibly moving. I got teary eyed just thinking about it. I am grateful that I was raised in this faith. As I get older, experience more, and learn more, I become even more appreciative of all God offers us through the Catholic Church.

I Found God today being grateful for faith.

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Musically Gifted

Posted by eph21920 on September 16, 2019 in Faith, Joy, Music, Past

My dad and brother have been busy transferring the old cassette tapes into the computer. The next step is to put them on CD’s so they can be played easily. My brother completed the first one today and we all listened. It was a compilation of my mother playing the piano when she was at her best. The music was incredibly difficult and we were all in awe of her ability. She said her hands hurt just listening to them. It was wonderful to hear and I’m grateful to have this to pass to future generations.

I Found God today listening to my mom’s gift of music.

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Sister’s Silver Anniversary

Posted by eph21920 on September 15, 2019 in Answer, Family, Joy, Marriage, Relationship

My sister and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary a couple of days ago. They went to Las Vegas where they were married and spent several days relaxing and enjoying their time away. While they were there, my parents, sister, brother, and I sent them champagne and treats. We had everyone over today so we could celebrate them all together. My sister and I worked hard yesterday making way too much lasagna and cake pops, which was a first for us both. Of course, we always have a good time visiting and laughing. When we talked about what it took for them to stay married for 25 years, my brother-in-law said he couldn’t speak for my sister, but for him it wasn’t that hard. That was sweet. They said that they are brutally honest with one another, they don’t let things stew, they don’t have to be right all the time, they let things go, and they accept each other for who they are. Practical and beautiful advice of how to love one another.

I Found God today in words of how to love.

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Cooking With my Sister

Posted by eph21920 on September 14, 2019 in Family, Food, Job, Joy

My sister came over this evening. We spent the rest of the night cooking for the celebration we will be having for my other sister and her husband’s 25th wedding anniversary. For some reason, I was keenly aware of how well we work together in the kitchen. We don’t even need to say anything to each other – we just know what needs to be done and who is best to do what job. We catch up on things and laugh a lot too as we go. I just loved cooking with her tonight.

I Found God today cooking with my sister.

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Zoo Day

Posted by eph21920 on September 13, 2019 in Children, Creation, Family, Fun, Joy

Today was the last day the zoo was offering half price admission for military families. We talked about going all week. My dad had projects to work on at home, but my mom was excited to go and had good energy. So, I made lunch for my dad, and packed a lunch for my mom and myself. I also packed up the transport wheelchair and lots of water before we headed out. There were many people who took advantage of the offer. Most of them were moms with small children. My mom mapped out the places she wanted to visit to see the animals she wanted to see, knowing that we would not be able to get through the whole zoo. The weather was absolutely perfect. Our first stop was the giraffes where we saw the baby that was born a couple of months ago. My mom passed on feeding them, but we had fun watching all the kids scream and laugh as the giraffes stuck out their long sticky tongues to grab the pieces of lettuce. From there we went on, up and down some pretty steep hills. My mom walked some and rode some. At one point we stopped to rest and my mom remembered the deep fried oreos that we had last time we visited. I obliged and we were joined by a mom with her 3 kids. We compared our deep fried oreos to their funnel cake and talked about their pets. We completed our zoo journey with the gorillas. At the time we were leaving, there was a huge amount of moms and little ones on their way out as well. I commented how we are all on the same schedule – get places early, eat lunch, and get home early to take a nap. It was a great outing and I was so glad my mom had the energy and enjoyed the day.

I Found God today enjoying the day with my mom at the zoo.

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Oldest Family Birthday

Posted by eph21920 on September 12, 2019 in Birthday, Connected, Family, Fun, Joy, Life

Yesterday, my dad’s cousin celebrated his 95th birthday. My dad did some research and found that his cousin was the longest living person in the family for at least a couple hundred years – as far back as my dad has been able to investigate. We sent some cards and my dad included a note telling him of the historical birthday. The family members who were with him shared pictures and videos of the party. We saw him open the card that popped up a cake with candles that lit up while the song “Happy Birthday” played. He was pretty proud of having the oldest birthday in the family. My parents remembered some of the woodworking that he and his son did and got out a couple of the gifts they received. I took photos of those and passed them along. I think it is just great that we are able to connect so easily in fun and important events like this.

I Found God today being able to connect with far away family for a special celebration.

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Consolers in the Waiting Room

Posted by eph21920 on September 11, 2019 in Generosity, Life, Love, Problem, Stranger

I took my dad to the hospital for a routine procedure today and had a long wait while he was being tended to. At first, the small waiting room was packed. There was one woman who seemed to be having a particularly difficult time. She was brought in a wheelchair by an attendant who made sure she was near the outlet so she could plug in her cell phone. After a couple of minutes, she started crying. She said she had lost her mother and hadn’t been able to grieve. The attendant who was still present giving her instructions for her procedure encouraged her and helped her calm down some before she left. After another few minutes, a woman walked in and sat in a chair. The woman in the wheelchair started crying again, this time harder. She told the other woman that her mother died and she just had a vision of her sitting in the same chair the woman chose. The woman consoled her best she could and before she left, she gave her a big hug. At one point the only people in the waiting room were the woman in the wheelchair and me. She told me also about loosing her mother and that she hadn’t seen her until she had a vision of her sitting in the chair. I expressed my sympathy and chatted with her for a while until new people came in. One woman, seeing how upset the other was, asked her how she could help her, what could she do for her. And so it went. During the time the woman in the wheelchair and I were waiting, several new and different people came in, consoled her and hugged her before they went on their way. It was something quite beautiful to witness.

I Found God today in many consolers.

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Learning About Learning

Posted by eph21920 on September 10, 2019 in Answer, Begin, Bible, Connected, Family, Knowledge, Life

Last night I started back to my Bible class – year 2. It was good to see the people I met last year and hear what everyone did over the summer. As the teacher summarized the previous year and talked about what to look forward to, I was pleasantly surprised to realize how much I learned and retained. Today I saw pictures of my granddaughter who started her first year of preschool yesterday. She was grinning from ear to ear as she sported her backpack and freshly braided hair. Although I don’t really feel like an “old grandmother”, I thought about how the process of learning continues over a lifetime – or at least it should. My granddaughter was super excited to have some personal autonomy, to meet new friends, and to gain knowledge that will help her live her life. I felt the same way. I’m able to share my own thoughts at my class, I was looking forward to meeting the people in my new small group, and what I am learning about Christ is not only knowledge for my mind, but it is feeding my soul to help me live the rest of my life here and to gain eternal life once this one is passed.

I Found God today learning about learning.

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