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Couldn’t Blink

Posted by eph21920 on November 17, 2017 in Answer, Doctor, Grateful

Going to the dentist is perhaps the thing I dread most – it’s hard for me to open my mouth wide, or for very long. Today’s visit was torturous as anticipated, but was a pretty funny story as I look back on it being fully functional. I am very sensitive to any medication. At one dentist visit many years ago, I had a bad reaction to the numbing shot that I received. My heart raced and I was literally shaking for a long time. After that, the dentist told me I should not have a shot that contained epinephrine. I relayed that to my current (new) dentist and after much discussion, he began the new crown procedure with a couple of shots – without epinephrine. There were 3 women in the room besides the dentist. One was his assistant who I met before. One was very knowledgeable and experienced. One was an intern and still learning. After the first round of shots took effect, the dentist came back in to check how it was working. I was somewhat numb, but had the sensation that I couldn’t blink with one of my eyes. He put a couple more shots in, which intensified everything. My left eye was definitely not blinking. He took a look as did the girls. They all agreed. He explained that the facial nerve is very close to the jawline, and sometimes it gets numb. One of the girls asked the other if she had ever seen this happen. She responded with a quiet, but audible, “No…”. Then I got worried. I wondered if he hit that nerve, if I was going to have permanent damage to my eye. He jumped in and said it would go away when the anesthesia started to wear off. He asked if I was OK. I said that I wasn’t really – I couldn’t blink my eye. He asked if I wanted to continue with the procedure. I said I did because I was already there and already numb, but my eye was dry. They all tried to find some eye drops to no avail. So, we agreed to just begin. As he was drilling away, I would need to stop every now and then to rest my jaw and manually “blink” my eye using the tip of my finger. I must have been quite a sight. About halfway through the procedure, I started to be able to blink again. I was so relieved and able to calm down somewhat. I was glad when the whole thing was over. I think everyone was. I told the story tonight while my parents, son, and I were playing games and we all had a good laugh. It’s funny now that there was no long term damage done.

I Found God today in a dentist experience that turned out OK.

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Twins Perhaps

Posted by eph21920 on November 16, 2017 in Connected, Love, Relationship, Stranger

I took my mom to a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. As usual, I looked around the waiting room and took notice of who was there. I try not to stare, but I do like to people watch. Sitting near us was an older couple. The more I noticed, the more I realized they looked almost identical, even though it was a man and a woman. They both had their hair trimmed very short and it was the same darkish, grayish mix. They were both wearing similar glasses, the same kind of blue polo shirt, blue jeans, and white and blue tennis shoes. I wondered if they were a married couple, or if they were actually twin siblings. While they were seated, a doctor came out and talked to them. They got up to leave and held hands. My mom noted how cute they were. I don’t know their relationship, but I do know they clearly and openly shared their love for one another.

I Found God today in a cute, loving couple.

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Electric Eel Party

Posted by eph21920 on November 15, 2017 in Birthday, Children, Fun, Life

Today I talked with a young woman whose son celebrated his 5th birthday over the weekend. She said he asked to have an electric eel themed party. She wasn’t quite sure where it came from. I thought that was hilarious. She looked on social media and couldn’t find any ideas for decorations and such. But, she and her husband used their own creative talents and made an electric eel cake, decorations, and games. I thought it was pretty great that she went with the difficult theme instead of trying to talk her son out of what had piqued his curiosity. I’m sure it brought him a lot of joy. And I’m sure they will talk about electric eels and the mom’s efforts for years to come.

I Found God today in a caring mom.

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Birthday Whirlwind

Posted by eph21920 on November 13, 2017 in Birthday, Family, Friends, Fun, Grateful, Relationship

It has been a whirlwind of a couple of days. It started when my oldest son from the east coast showed up at the house on Saturday completely by surprise – to me. On Sunday, one of my sisters, my sons, and I went to the big football game. We got there early to partake in all the festivities going on before the gates even opened. There were tons of tailgates and we spent quite a bit of time just checking out all the different vehicles and ways people celebrated being a fan. We shopped a little, supported the food tents, played some games, and watched the football players walk into the locker rooms. There was a trailer that held the Heisman Trophy and a couple of authentic football jerseys. Even though the game itself didn’t exactly go our way, we had a really fun time. After getting home late last night, today stated out early. My other sister spent the night to be with my parents while we were at the game. I got up bright and early to see her off as she headed to work. Today was my actual birthday, which was hard for me to believe after celebrating for two days already. I received lots of happy birthday wishes and spoke to family and far away friends. The neighbors even stopped over for a while. It helped me be more appreciative of the relationships that I have. All in all, it has been a wild, wonderful couple days of celebrations.

I Found God today in a fun birthday that helped me to appreciate the people in my life.

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Family Surprise

Posted by eph21920 on November 11, 2017 in Family, Fun, Happiness

I am not easily surprised. I am usually pretty keyed into what is happening around me and with the people who are close to me. But, I have to hand it to my family today. A few months ago, we bought some tickets to a football game out here hoping that my older son would be able to travel from the northeast and join us. However, it wasn’t working out for him to do so. I begged and pleaded for a while, then invited a friend to come to the game and take his ticket. I talked to him a couple of days ago and we planned to do a family video chat this afternoon. My sisters and other son were coming over for an early birthday celebration, so that would work out great. I got the text from my younger son that he was on his way over. Then I got the text from my older son to video chat. I connected with his family and was talking with his wife and kids when they all started singing “Happy Birthday” to me. At the end of the song, I heard the front door open and the voice of my younger son singing as well. But when I looked over, it was my older son standing there. It took me a few seconds to process before I realized it was really him. Then I screamed like never before and ran over to give him a huge hug. My sisters were in on the whole scheme and even had talked to my friend about it before I offered her the ticket so she knew what was happening. She played along as well. My daughter in law and grandkids did a great job of hiding it too as they watched my reaction from the computer. I had no idea. None. I was completely taken off guard. It was an elaborate scheme and I was shocked that they would go through all that trouble just to surprise me. I was feeling pretty special indeed. We laughed all evening and I am so excited for the big game.

I Found God today in an amazing surprise from my family.

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Ready for Heaven

Posted by eph21920 on November 10, 2017 in Connected, Death, Eternity

Today at my exercise class, one of the ladies talked about her grandmother who lived to 92 years old. One evening when the woman was visiting, her grandmother told her good-bye and that she was going to heaven. The woman and those with her responded as most would, telling her that wasn’t true and they would see her again. Sure enough, the grandmother passed away that night. She was clearly connected with God and ready to meet him.

I Found God today in an example of faith.

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Patience in Traffic

Posted by eph21920 on November 9, 2017 in Answer, Grateful, Patience, Prayer, Problem

Today I had a few errands to run. I figured it would take me about an hour. I left a little bit later than I had intended and everywhere I went there was traffic and road construction. It took me a half an hour to get to a store when it should have taken only 10 minutes. It was frustrating to say the least. However, I tried to make the best of it and not get all anxious or angry. I had on my “Jesus Jams” and said some prayers – mostly for patience. And it worked. When I hit more construction and lanes that converged, I let people in front of me who waved in thanks. I sang along to the music and thought of where I was and who I was with the last time I heard the song. I found myself able to go about my business without feeling stressed. That, to me, was a wonderful blessing.

I Found God today in His help to be patient.

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Calling Coincidence

Posted by eph21920 on November 8, 2017 in Answer, Connected, Family, Happiness

My mom has been thinking a lot about my nephew the past couple of days. Today my dad wore his “Navy Grandpa” t-shirt. It has been too long since we have talked with him and even longer since we have seen him in person. Tonight he called. He told us all about his job, his new way of life, his girlfriend, and that he plans to come for a while around Christmas. We were very happy to hear his voice and know that things are going well for him. It was funny how he has been at the front of our minds and then he called.

I Found God today talking with my nephew.

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Problem Solving

Posted by eph21920 on November 7, 2017 in Answer, Life, Problem, Struggles, Trust

Sometimes I feel like every day something else goes wrong. It can be very frustrating. This morning we read the meditation from the book, “Jesus Always” by Sarah Young. It said that troubles come to keep us thinking – to keep our brains working on problem solving. If we didn’t have problems to solve, we would just worry about the future. So, maybe the next time something happens, I will thank God for helping to keep our minds sharp. It also said that God knows all our struggles. While we might be surprised about the things that happen, God never is and He also knows the outcome. Trusting in that can give us comfort. It was an interesting meditation and certainly gave me words to contemplate.

I Found God today in a new way of thinking about problems.

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Helpful Info and Community

Posted by eph21920 on November 6, 2017 in Answer, Family, Grateful, Struggles

My mom does a lot of reading and stays abreast of current events, nutrition, and medical information. Today she read an article about Parkinson’s Disease that gave her a new perspective of her illness. It said the big problem is that the brain forgets how to do normal things such as walking and even talking. However, if a person practices something over and over again, the brain can remember. My mom goes to exercise classes twice a week. She and the other participants say how helpful it is and makes them feel better. They work on a variety of exercises including dexterity, large and small motor skills, and balance. But, she explained, it only lasts a little while. The things that we take for granted, she has to think about doing. So, while she continues to struggle through this disease, we are grateful for the class, the people who are so committed to helping, and to the Parkinson’s community we have found.

I Found God today in helpful information and community.

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