On Mother's Day

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. “Is this the long way?” she asked. And the guide said: “Yes, and the way is hard And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning.” But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them, and the young Mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this.” Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, “Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come.” And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, “A little patience and we are there.” So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, “Mother, we would not have done it without you.” And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, “This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday, I gave them courage. Today, I’ve given them strength.” And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: “Look up. Lift your eyes to the light. darkness. And that night the Mother said, “This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God.” And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide And is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them.”And the children said, “You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates.”And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: “We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence...” Your Mother is always with you.... She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she’s crystallized in every tear drop. She’s the place you came from, your first home; and she’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space ... not even death!

Temptation

On Monday Kim and I went back to Weight Watchers. It was not a minute too soon for me. I have stress ate for the past four months. I never thought I was a stress eater, but I have been lately. Add the stress to eating out a lot more and you have gained poundage! Every blooming time I loose weight, I say..."I am not going to gain this weight back", only to have it find it's way back onto my body. I stopped short, this time, of gaining it all back....but I had a good start on it. Why is it so hard?
Today was Cinco de Mayo, and our Hispanic parents cooked for us...I ate one bite and tossed mine and ate my measured lunch. We also had cake for Teacher Appreciation week....I left it alone, but I did not want to. I just want to get to the point where my mouth does not water when someone comes in with a plate of cake and offers it to me. Yes, I play mind games...like how much better I feel when I am eating right, or how much better I look, but my mouth still slobers for that piece of cake. I remember as a kid how I loved candy, and I remember thinking that when I got to be an adult I would not want candy because I did not see grown ups eating candy with the passion that I would tear into that GooGoo bar...guess what???? I still love it. But I love life more. So in light of my love of life, I will take my still good health and try to do what I can to stay that way!

God Answers Prayer

I know not by what methods rare, but this I know-God answers prayer.

I know not when He sends the word, that tells us fervent prayer is heard.

I know it cometh soon or late; Therefore we need to pray and wait.

I know not if the blessing sought, will come in just the way I thought.

I leave my prayers with Him alone, whose will is wiser than my own!

Unknown

Thank you all for your prayers. Since Thursday, Addi has been headache free! We had a wonderful day yesterday, and to see her at church this morning was just a blessing. This has been a rough patch and we may face rough patches in the future, but we will just deal with that as it comes. Addi is still a little weak, but that is to be expected. Just to see her smile and hear her giggle is like medicine to me! I cannot even imagine what she has been through. I have had some pain in my life, but nothing that has not passed within a few days...and to think of migraine pain for 105 days just breaks my heart. Now we are going to focus on returning to whatever "normal" is...although there are still some doctor's appointments ahead and adjustment to meds that may be a lifelong thing. We are just, for lack of a better word, thankful to God and everyone.