A Walk In the Park

Yesterday Mom, Bobbie, Rich and I went to Fredrick Meijer Gardens to see the Amazing Chocolate Tree, DaVinci's Horse, and The Thinker. Mom didn't walk through the gardens, but she did walk from the wheel chair bay to my car across the parking lot. We had a great time!

We found our favorite candy bars on the history of chocolate display.

We learned about the cacao tree; the blossoms really smell like chocolate!

We were almost stepped on by a 24-foot horse!!

We took a break here and there throughout the gardens.

When we got home, Bill and Pattie and their crew arrived. Then Jon and Linda, then Tami and Dan, then Tina, Mike, and Aunt Dorothy. Late arrivals were Matt, Jan and Raina a little after one a.m. - they drove all the way from Florida.

Today we're eating, visiting, and soon there will be serious card playing. Serious card playing.

Visit to GR

Mom has been staying with me since Thursday. Paul, Suzy and the kids dropped her off on their way to national convention in Joplin, Missouri. We've had a great time. Mom has found her appetite - well, she's not hungry but she does eat six times a day and has been enjoying sundaes every evening. Mom has been walking a lot - around the house, across the yard, up the stairs. On Sunday we went to church and we didn't bother to take the walker in with us. After church we stopped at Flower Land, and she walked several hundred feet through the nursery without any assistance. Just a brief pause to sit on a little red wagon while we made shopping decisions.
We've spent some time every morning on the back porch watching the grass grow.





Today we took a trip to the yard waste dump on the west side of town. I filled the back of my truck with branches, twigs and roots from my yard and off we went. Grand Rapids has a free yard waste disposal site, which is very handy because I have a silver maple in my back yard. Mom thought the trip was very interesting, and hoped beyond hope that all that wood at the dump is used by people who need it. Here she is, pondering waste wood use:


Tomorrow's a big day. We have last minute preparations before the family begins to arrive for the reunion. We just got off the phone with Matt and Jan in Florida and are very happy that their whole family is coming. Bobbie and Rich are coming from Las Vegas tomorrow night.

Can't wait!

PT

Below are pictures Suzy took last week at Mom's physical therapy appointment. She's been walking a lot more, using her walker more than her wheelchair and sometimes not using her walker at all. Note the very chic hat - Suzy picked it out for her.

The Problem of Why

Mom and I were talking before church on Sunday morning about the cancer. She said she finds herself asking why...why did it take so long to diagnose; why didn't they begin radiation immediately; why did she break her leg. She isn't angry; she's really quite amazing in her grace under the circumstances. I was asking why too. Why my Mom. Why in her body. Why now.

Asking why is what we do when we lose our perceived control of our lives. We think if we can come up with an answer to our why, we may bring reason to our vulnerability and reclaim our stability.

I think the problem of why is that in asking it, we expect to find a concrete result. I am brunette because...I am female because...I have cancer - because. We know Mom probably has cancer because she had scar tissue in her lung that provided a place for it to grow. That's the scientific answer. But there are unanswerable questions too, questions we ask God or we ask ourselves because we don't want to question God. Why my Mom. There is no concrete answer to Rose + Cancer = X.

What if, instead of asking why, I become the greatest fan of God's theater, watching in eager anticipation for the next wonderful thing He does for and through Mom? What if I don't look for an end result, but for daily affirmations of His hand in our lives? What if in the end our need for reason is swallowed up in thankfulness?

It's simple, really, to choose thankfulness, but it requires letting go of the nagging need to know why.

Leaving a Message for Rosie

Several of you have told me you tried to leave messages for Mom but couldn't. Instructions for posting a message or "comment" are here. You may choose to create a google account to leave messages. A google account is free and protected against fraud, impersonation and abuse. Instructions for creating a google account are here.
If you choose not to leave messages on this site for Mom, or if you wish to send her a personal greeting, you may email her at:
everythings_rosie@hotmail.com.
She'll love hearing from you!

In Between Days

I'm heading up north to see Mom and Suzy's family after work tonight. Mom has been using her leg more and has been spending time in the livingroom watching TV with the family. This is a pretty big deal, because she has spent most of the last six weeks in her room when Suzy isn't taking her to appointments. It's a cozy little room, and maybe a little to easy to stay in.

We're in the in-between time when Mom recovers from her radiation treatment before she begins chemotherapy. Her stomach has been bothering her, probably a side effect of medications or the whole brain radiation. She doesn't have much of an appetite, even for hamburgers and pizza (her absolute favorites). Her breathing is a little more labored these days. It's hard to wait, but she needs all the strength she can muster for the chemo.

Today Suzy is going to Traverse City for family appointments, so Mom is going to visit with Bill and Pattie for the day. This is twice in one month - a record! A light side to all of this is that our family is seeing more of eachother than we have in years.

Gary Larson must have run into Mom at the hospital...

Thanks to Jane and Barb for passing the calendar page to me this morning!