The Slumber Party

Two nights ago I was a participant in a slumber party. There was no painting of fingernails or rolling of hair, and the television was not even turned on. Before you start thinking this must have been a dull party, think again. The three most essential ingrediants for any girl party were very much present... talk about boys... well one boy, anyway..., lots of giggling, and very little sleep. Tamarah, Mama and I spent the night at the Travelodge in Birmingham. Tamarah grabbed one bed and I grabbed the other. That left Mama in a dilemna... she couldn't decide which of us would be safer to sleep with. Even after thoroughly questioning each of us about our kicking, snoring and gas passing habits, she couldn't decide. That is until I pointed out the fact that Tamarah might be too much of a risk... what if she started dreaming about Charlie and thought she was at home in the bed with him. That was all it took; Mama slept with me. Little did either of us know that Tamarah would stay awake practically the whole night anyway. She claimed it was because of steroids she had been given earlier in the day at her arthritis treatment, but I have a different theory. She just couldn't stop thinking about the latest man in her life. I know this is true because I made the mistake of getting up to go to the bathroom at 3:30 a.m. and when I came back she decided it was a good time to show me all of the great pictures she had of the new man she has fallen in love with. I suppose I should clarify at this point that we are talking about her new grandson, Ryan Anthony. When I "finally" got back to sleep I soon found myself awake again with leg cramps. I got up and walked up and down the length of the room to walk them off. Suddenly a voice came out of the darkness as Mama popped up and said, "turn right at the end." What? She must be talking in her sleep. But no, she popped up again, this time laughing her head off. She thought I was trying to find the bathroom. Okay, I know I am getting old now, but there were only two doors in that room, and one of them... the one to the bathroom... was open and the light was on. Plu-eease! It was fun to hear her giggling about it though. So who says you have to be "young" to have a great slumber party. I can't imagine any teenager having more fun than we did. But we did all agree that it would have been even more fun if Debbie had been there. Guess that means we need to plan another one!

A Terrible, Wonderful Day

Yesterday was a terrible, wonderful day. It was terrible because my youngest sister, Kim, had a bilateral mastectomy due to a recent breast cancer diagnosis. It was wonderful because Mama and all five of her children were together for the first time in years. The last time we were all together was when Daddy died in 1997. Kim has been the missing link in family togetherness for many years, and ironically, she was the link that brought us all back together yesterday. I have always believed that there is a silver lining in every cloud, and yesterday was no exception. In a small but comfortable waiting room at St. Vincent's Hospital, Mama, Debbie, Gray and Deborah Lynn, Tamarah and I waited together through a long day of surgery for Kim. We caught up on family news, gave Tamarah a platform to brag about her brand new, first grandchild, passed around pictures, and listened to the latest braggings of Pa Gray and Nana who are veteran grandparents now with five grands, all age six and under. We were enchanted by the antics of Kim's seven year old daughter, Caitlin whom none of us have ever gotten to spend much time with, and discovered that she is not only cute as a button, but has a great personality and sense of humor all her own. We met and got to know new people who shared the room with us, and Debbie and I quilted. Hey, I never waste an opportunity to quilt, and I accomplished a good bit on two samplers I am making. Debbie brought fabric to share and we spread one piece on the floor, laid sampler blocks on top of it and planned a finished quilt. It was fun to have everyone's input in that. We planted some quilting seeds in Tamarah and by the end of the day she was starting to catch the bug. I have a feeling that she will become a quilter in 2010. We ate lunch together, shopped together in the hospital gift shops and pulled together to make a long and scary day more bearable. At the end of the day we had wonderful news: the surgery was successful, the cancer was non-invasive, and there was no sign of malignancy in the lymph nodes. Kim was officially in remission. We all gathered around her bedside and for a short time our family circle was complete, and peace reigned. It is a shame that it took such a frightening ordeal for this to be accomplished. I will never say that God causes bad things to happen, but I do firmly believe that He uses all circumstances in our lives to bring about good. He works in mysterious ways that are not ours to comprehend in this lifetime. Our job is to trust Him with a childlike faith in all situations and allow ourselves to be led by His perfect will. When we can give up control and do that, we experience His perfect peace... until our human selves start grabbing that control back again. I pray that this terrible, wonderful day was a turning point in our family and there will be many complete family circles in the future that are brought about voluntarily and not by tragic circumstance.