A Memorable May

I have really missed being at the blog.

I didn't intend to go three weeks without publishing a post. Let's just say that the month of May this year was definitely a very memorable month. It started well enough, with the final Ladies Bible Study classes of the season and some of our sweet ladies treating me to lunch at Olive Garden on the last day. And some of the more normal events that filled my month were a cake decorating class at church for our teen girls and their moms, a weekend of much-needed yard work, celebrating Mother's Day, giving a baby shower, picking strawberries, attending a symphony concert, several meetings, and annual dentist and doctor appointments.

Yes. May was an extremely busy month. But I haven't gotten to the big stuff yet.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and 3 granddaughters were able to come for a week. During that time, our house was a busy, noisy, happy place with a 6 year old, 4 year old, and almost-2-year old. We did a lot of fun things: celebrated our daughter's birthday with a special dinner and she and I getting pedicures together (it is a rare treat to be able to be with one of our children on their birthday!), went to the beach, spent a day at Jamestown Settlement, took a ferry ride, and just enjoyed a lot of play time and making crafts. During their visit, our daughter and her husband celebrated their 8th wedding anniversary so pa-pa and I kept the children at home for a pizza and movie night while their parents enjoyed a much-needed night out.

About three days into their visit, I noticed that I was coming down with a very strange, bright red, and EXTREMELY itchy rash on my arms. It got to the point where I could not sleep at night unless I wrapped ice packs around my arms, so I made a trip to my doctor's office. He was mystified, as it looked and seemed very much like some type of poisonous plant but I had not been working outside for over a week. He prescribed a round of oral steroids as well as a steroid cream, and for the remainder of that week which coincided with our daughter's visit, I was rather miserable from the itching, swelling, and not being able to sleep.

It finally started to clear up, just in time for me to get on a plane for a planned visit to my parents in Georgia. I had not seen them since last September and was looking forward to spending the time with them as well as helping out as much as I could. I had a great week - doing things with my parents, celebrating my sister's and my birthdays with a special lunch, going shopping with my mother, in addition to getting their garage and closets cleaned and organized, accomplishing some outdoor chores, cooking, and various other little things. I also enjoyed walks and extended times of prayer outside in the early mornings.

It was a great week - until Sunday night when I got hit suddenly and hard by one of the worst stomach flu bugs I have ever had. I will spare you the details. The next day I was running a fever, had a horrible headache and chills, and could not sit up in a chair for more than a few minutes. My poor mother had her hands full trying to care for me and my dad who requires a lot of her attention. And I was wondering how in the world I was going to be able to fly home in just over 24 hours.

That's when the month of May became the most memorable to me. Because I asked people to pray, and God answered prayers in such a clear and wonderful way.

I felt better by the time I had to leave - I was still unable to eat anything and was very weak, but the fever, headache, and nausea were gone, which was important because I had to make a 2 hour shuttle ride and then a trek through the Atlanta airport.

I specifically asked people to pray for a short security line. Long security lines at the Atlanta airport had been in the news just a few days prior. When I got my boarding pass, I had been granted "pre-check" status - meaning I waited in line for a grand total of 5 minutes! Without having to take off my shoes and open my bags.

I asked for prayer for strength to handle my luggage. At the gate, because the flight was full they asked for volunteers to check their bags for free. Of course, I volunteered so I did not have to carry my luggage onto the plane and stow it overhead, and because I did they gave me early boarding privileges - meaning I was one of the first ones on the plane and could just relax until it was time for take-off.

After I got home, I expected my recovery to continue, but the next day I actually felt a lot worse. So back to my doctor's office I went. I now had been at my doctor's a total of three times in a month - as much as I normally am in an entire year. The doctor diagnosed me with either salmonella or noro-virus, but we will probably never know for sure. Before he came in, the nurse was looking over my chart and said "That's right! You were in here just recently for that bad case of poison-whatever." When I agreed, she shook her head and said "You sure have had a memorable May!"

Yes. It was a memorable May. Some of it I wouldn't want to repeat. But it is memorable in good ways, too. Family time. Answers to prayer. And realizing - again- just how big and how good our God is. Psalm 28:7 - "The Lord is my strength and my shield, my heart trusted in Him and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices and with my song will I praise Him!"

Till next time,
Kathi