CONSTRUCTING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

So I decided to not consult Mr. Webster or Mr. American Heritage to find the definition of construction.  After all, I grew up in a constructor's household and married a constructor.  We all know what it means, maybe not on a grand dictionary definition scale but it's simply "build".  And I'll bet many of my friends know where this post is going.

Some days it's easy to build an attitude of gratitude.  Other days we tend to forget about all the things we are to be thankful for.  I don't know without looking it up where it is in the scriptures --somewhere in the New Testament--, but I'm sure the scriptures say that "in EVERYTHING give thanks."  It doesn't say in every GOOD thing give thanks but in EVERYTHING give thanks.  And that's even for the bad stuff.  Hard to construct an attitude of gratitude during the I-don't-know-how-I'm-going-to-make-it-through-this time of life.

The Husband has been working on his garage lately.  He started out doing it alone.  I will say that The Husband is a hard worker and once he is focused on a project, he works and works and works without asking for help.  When I asked him in the beginning how much it might cost to hire someone to do it, he gave me one of those looks any wife would recognize that looked like the wife might have grown many horns on her head.  Needless to say, he answered nothing.

So he worked and worked on Fridays and Saturdays and as time went on, he had friends that helped....The Brother-in-Law, The Fishing Buddy, and The Fishing Buddy's Brother.  I told The Husband that he had some REALLY good friends.  And he agreed.

This past Saturday The Husband, The Fishing Buddy, and The Fishing Buddy's Brother were working together and were winding down the workday and putting felt on the roof.  The Fishing Buddy, being afraid of heights, was not on the roof but the other two were on the roof.  I looked out of the window at the progress, saw them there, entertained the thought that they really were pretty old to be doing such, and went to the kitchen.  About 5-10 minutes later, The Fishing Buddy came running in and told me to call 911.  The Husband had fallen off the roof.  My worst fear...a gut feeling I had for weeks and there it was.  Happened.  Just like I feared.

The most amazing thing is that I kept my composure even though I was shaking inside and did what I needed to and answered questions asked.  The 911 dispatcher told me to go out to the guys and answer her questions.  I had not realized The Fishing Buddy's Brother had fallen also.  Seems the felt had come loose and both guys started to slide quickly.  The Fishing Buddy's Brother was sitting on the trailer holding a bleeding hand.  The Husband was lying on the ground on a 2 x 4 between the garage and and the trailer.  Both were awake and talking which helped my feelings a good bit.  I called for The Girl and The Son-In-Law who came quickly.  If we ever doubted The Girl is a Daddy's girl, all that doubt is gone.  She was not happy her daddy had fallen from the roof.  Duh.  The Son-In-Law was a rock and I felt so blessed he was there with his calmer composure.

The paramedics came quickly and long story short, transported both guys to the hospital closest with a trauma center.  They said falling from a 13' high roof was very much a trauma.  The Fishing Buddy's Brother got 6-7 stitches in his palm and a tetanus shot and was released.  He wanted to stay to hear from The Husband but I sent him home.  I was so sorry he fell.  So sorry.

As for The Husband, he was scanned from head to toe and had a rib break and another small bone break with bruises and contusions...more than one.  He's been home and I've been his shadow since Saturday night.  Did I say that yesterday he coughed and broke yet another rib?    I know he's growing weary of it but be assured--my attention will continue.  The Husband now walks with a cane and is up walking a good bit.  He does weary quickly.  I don't think he enjoys being at home all the time, but has very little choice in the matter.  His nurse is strict, you understand?

So with all of this, I have learned to build my attitude of gratitude.  Saturday could have been a day that changed our lives forever, but so far, I feel The Husband and The Fishing Buddy's Brother will heal. In time.  Don't folks say that time is a healer?  That's certainly been proven time and time again.

I relive the Saturday afternoon and am grateful for friends who help.  I did explain to The Fishing Buddy's Brother that he proved my point of "no good deed goes unpunished".  I'm grateful that the Husband and The Fishing Buddy's Brother are not exceptionally badly hurt.  I'm grateful that The Husband so far has listened to me and accepted my "nursing skills". I'm grateful that the EMS got here quickly and were caring.  The list is endless.

Maybe one might say I should wonder why God allowed such to happen.  Couldn't He have stopped it?  Sure He could have.  But I have enough faith in my God to know that He sees the whole big picture and does what's best for us.  That's where faith comes in.  And of course, we have to mention the grace and mercy that follow.  I hope that this week and forevermore I will have the attitude of gratitude for EVERYTHING and give thanks to the Lord for taking care of us in His way.

Some days I might wish I could see the future but when I consider that, I realize I really don't want to know.  It's enough to know the ONE who holds the future.  That's enough for me.  I'll just continue on one day at a time.

SNOW

My trusted Mr. Webster's online dictionary's definition of snow was not as glamorous as the American Heritage Dictionary's definition.  So, wanting snow to be exciting and glamorous, I chose the American Heritage definition which says:

Snow -- Frozen precipitation in the form of white or translucent hexagonal ice crystals that fall in soft, white flakes.

Sounds pretty, doesn't it?  What is it about snow that brings out the childhood wonder in most of us--even as we age?  I think it's the whiteness of it all.  Purity.  Beauty.  A good reason to stay home.

With our hopes built for a nice snow today, even while our realism knows it will probably be just a sprinkling if any, I decided you blog readers might enjoy some picture reminders of recent years of beautiful whiteness.

In the summer, a crop of blueberries will grow here.

Blue sky and white trees...what a combination of "colors"!

The Girl's childhood sled....a classic.

See, it still runs nicely.

An Auburn University snowman....War Eagle!  (I learned this unfamiliar way of speaking from the Son-In-Law.)

This is sparkly bling snow....

A snow angel......

So we'll see what the day holds.  Maybe we should all do as us Southerners do at the "threat" of snow....hit the grocery stores for that gallon of milk and loaf of bread...just in case.  We can hope, can't we?

Happy Snow Day....maybe!  

PAIN

Pain:  a state of physical, emotional, or mental lack of well-being or physical, emotional, or mental uneasiness that ranges from mild discomfort or dull distress to acute often unbearable agony, may be generalized or localized, and is the consequence of being injured or hurt physically or mentally or of some derangement of or lack of equilibrium in the physical or mental functions (as through disease), and that usually produces a reaction of wanting to avoid, escape, or destroy the causative factor and its effects

So wow, quite an impressive definition from our friend, Mr. Webster! 

As I was looking in the attic the other day, I was reminded that one of my faithful blog readers had asked for the story of the “fall through my attic”.  So being the first of a new year, I decided to be nice and oblige her. The “incident” happened about 26 years ago.  After the calculator calculated my age, I realized I was probably the age The Girl is now.  How about that?  Fun, huh? 

It’s a simple Sunday afternoon in November.  The Husband was doing his Sunday afternoon thing of napping occasionally with the remote in hand and feet propped in the recliner.  The girl, young one that she was, was most likely playing with her “babies” in her room.  I decided, being the middle of November (I know this as it was the weekend before my birthday), I would get a headstart and bring down the Christmas gift wrap from the attic.  I always bought my Christmas gift wrap after Christmas the prior year when it was 50+% off.  I still do.   Our attic has nice steps that fold down to make a ladder of sorts into our carport.  I had visited the attic many, many times—always being cautious that I never step on a spot that was “weak”, if you know what I mean.  And I think you know what I mean.  The Husband always cautioned me about that.   I carefully got the first roll of paper and threw it down the steps carefully.  I was smart enough to know I would not be good holding on to much to bring down as it was important for ME to hold on to the little rails on the side of those folding steps.  I walked carefully to get a couple more, threw them down gently, and stepped at the stair area to put my foot carefully over so I could come down also.  Oops.  I forgot at that point about the necessity of being cautious and to never step on a spot that was “weak”.  I put my right foot there at the top of those stairs and….uh huh, bet you know what's coming.  It was a VERY WEAK spot.   The sheetrock crumbled, my right foot followed the direction of the sheetrock, my right arm underneath caught HARD on a 2 x 4 that used to be a “strong” spot to walk on…my left foot and leg stayed on the remaining sheetrock.  Thank goodness.  If I had not caught on that 2 x 4, the story might have been a lot different.   I finally caught my breath and started yelling as I hung there with one foot and leg dangling in midair, the other out of sight, and the right hand dangling while the 2 x 4 held me.  I was in a predicament that merited my yelling for The Husband and The Girl.  Sound familiar to you blog readers?   Uh huh. 


The Girl heard me first.  Uh huh…and went to get The Husband.  He looked stunned and told me to hang on.  Well, duh.   My right arm is attached to the 2 x 4 and my left leg is straight on the attic sheetrock that was obviously not "weak".  Where am I going?  Really?  He managed to help me down and I realized I really had hurt something.  The pain was excruciating in my side under my right arm.  I was having trouble getting a decent breath.  I tried to walk around and breathe, hoping it was just a quick temporary problem that would fix itself in five or fifty minutes.  It wasn’t. 

If I recall correctly—my mind slips, you know—The Husband found a doctor there in town that happened to be open on that Sunday late afternoon and he saw me.  He thought I had probably bruised ribs and it would a while to “unbruise”.  He explained that bruised ribs hurt as badly as broken ribs.  Well, yes, that was just what I wanted to hear. 

It was a day or so after when I was still in massive pain that I decided I needed a second opinion.  I found a doctor who had just moved to town and visited her.  She agreed that the ribs were bruised and gave me instructions on how to minimize the pain.  Pain medicine helped.  I liked that doctor. I told her that day that I rarely needed a doctor so probably wouldn’t see her much.   Now, 26 years and 3-4 huge medical files later, she is still my family’s doctor and friend.  She has diagnosed every bad thing we’ve ever had and helped control and deal with those things.  I still see her regularly.  She also tells me that she tells my story regularly.  

I do remember having to be driven most places that week….and I remember having to be driven to have my drivers’ license renewed and such trivial things as that.  I remember, too, The Mother-In-Law being so mad the her son allowed me to go into the attic when he should have been doing it himself for me.  Hearing her say that was about the only thing that made me smile for several days. 

So really, that’s the “attic incident”.  I was thinking about the physical pain that brought to me and the amount of time that physical pain lasted.  Since that time, I’ve so many episodes of health issues that have caused me so much physical pain.  (Last year's 38 day kidney stone attack immediately comes to mind.)  That same doctor says I’m her worst patient in that I have such a high pain tolerance, I can be really badly sick and not realize….so she has learned when I’m in pain and when I’m not…just by looking at me. That’s a pretty good doctor, I say.

Pain we have in our lives, though, is not always physical.  Granted what I remember most about that attic incident is hanging there not able to move any way and then feeling the excruciating pain it brought.  Isn’t that how we are a lot of times when we suffer emotional pain, too?  We hanging between a right choice and a wrong choice or we’re hanging in grief at things that break our hearts.  Just....hanging.  It’s hard sometimes to forget those painful decisions, choices, and losses and move on.  As I needed The Husband's help to get down from the attic, we often need some help to move on after pain.  I know that if we trust in the Lord to help us deal with the emotional pains and problems that come, we can trust and move on with a positive attitude and spirit.  And don’t we have The Great Physician who knows us so well that He knows when we are in pain and struggling with decisions and choices?  He is there and WILL help.  He promised. That’s a pretty good Great Physician, I would say….a great “heart” doctor.  I’m glad I’m HIS patient!

Painful times teach us many things for sure.  I now store my Christmas gift wrap on the carport where there are no steps to climb.  After I healed, I did have to summon courage to climb back in the attic--kind of like getting on a horse after you've been thrown--and that climb I made and those steps I took on the "strong" parts of the attic floor were very scary.  My legs were like jelly.  I remember well.  But I did it.  The Husband did a helpful thing, too, by repairing the section that was hurt and repaired it so that it was strong.  Just in case I had attic troubles again.  Sometimes it takes us a long time to learn.  And sometimes we learn quickly.  As for our hard times, it's good to remember what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 12:9 & 10:

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.   Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake for when I am weak, then am I strong."

I like that.

A Poem

Yes, two posts for the 3rd day of the new year!  I read this poem this morning and it spoke volumes.  I thought you all, my seven blog readers, might enjoy also.  The poem is attributed to Edgar Guest, and is titled "Sermons We See".

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day.
I'd rather one would walk with me--than merely show the way.
The eye's a better pupil--more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but examples always clear.
And the best of all the people are the ones who live their creed,
For to see the good in action is what everybody needs,
I can soon learn how to do it if you'll let me see it done,
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
The lectures you deliver may be very wise and true--
But I'd rather get my lesson by observing what you do.
For I may misunderstand you, and the high advice you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.


And I say, "Amen."

A New Year

Happy 2013!  Yes, two days late but a sincere wish all the same.  I don't make resolutions--can't keep them--but do hope I make an effort to blog more this year.

Today's blog is nothing mind boggling, but stomach satisfying.  And since it's after Christmas and all are accustomed to nice good food, I decided I would share a recipe I found.  I try to stay away from gluten and dairy at the advice of my wise doctor and find I am much better off that way.  However, after making these luscious cookies yesterday and indulging in 3 of the 15, I am scared to open the bag for more lest I cannot stop eating.  Then I have a whole different problem of overeating on the 3rd day of the year 2013.

Anyways, I thought I would share.  Yum....They are flourless, peanut buttery, soft, and delicious.  They look like this:

Here's the recipe:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup chunky peanut butter (I used non-chunky.)
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk chocolate chips (I used semisweet chunks--it's what I had.)

In a bowl, combine first 5 ingredients, stirring with a spoon.  Add chips.  Drop by teaspoonsful onto parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  (I had no parchment paper so I used put straight on the sheet with no prep.  It worked.)  Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Let cool on pan.  Remove to wire rack for continued cooling.

I say-, "Eat one hot.  Yum!"