The Teacup Bouquet

When friends find out I've had a brain tumor removed, a common response is, "How did you know?  Did you have terrible headaches?" No, I did not.  What I had was a strong pulsing in one part of my head that made my work increasingly fatiguing and caused me to make a doctor's appointment.  (I believe it was God knocking on my brain to get my attention)  However, the doctor's appointment would have been useless if I had not had a serious car wreck and brain trauma seven years before because his initial response was     " It's probably stress". It was a weekday morning. I had just taken my daughter to school three miles away and was coming back home, when a car, going way too fast, didn't make the curve and ran head on into my car. Because I had very serious trauma to my brain, several MRIs and other scans were run on my head during my hospital stay.  A lesion (looking like a scratch, we were told) was seen on my brain, but the docto...

A moment I shall never forget: when my mother stopped breathing. On August 9, 2012 , only moments after the doctor said she was well enough to go home from the hospital, I found myself standing in the corner of an emergency room in that same hospital with a medical team surrounding her bed. The team worked like a well running machine - attaching monitors, inserting an IV, drawing blood, - at least 10 of them working with speed and precision. As the team worked, I watched her eyes become fixed, unmoving; she did not respond to the nurse shouting in her ear, but seemed to be staring at something only she could see. In a matter of mere seconds, her skin turned a strange gray color as the shadow of death passed over her. Then I heard someone on the medical team say. She's not breathing....bag her! A team member placed a bag over her face and squeezed air - she began to breathe again. Then, she began to seizure. I watched, helpless, understanding how fragile life itself is; I knew in ...

When I was a child, I learned I could have money if I found it and no one else claimed it.  I also learned that its a good idea to look for financial opportunities where others may not.  See, my daddy sold recycled parts of cars and, when we wanted a little treat, like maybe a 10¢ coke, he didn't care if we spent all day looking through the broken down cars on his lot to find a few coins.   My mother once made a deal with me and I learned a little more about handling money: you can only stretch a dollar so far and groceries are expensive! She asked me to babysit my brother and cook the family meals while she worked at our gas station on the highway out in front of our house.  I think she gave me $20 to buy the groceries for the week and I could have whatever was left over. I don't remember ever having anything left over.   Then, our family had a financial calamity when I was 16 and my Daddy was seriously injured while he was working at his bus...

Twice Loved by Wanda E Brunstetter,  tells the story of two lonely hearts that find happy contentment with one another after each has lost their mates by death. It's a quick read - a book chick flick, you might say.  Twice Loved is set in 1945 after World War II (#ww2) has just ended and America is still trying to recover from the #greatdepression and the shortages brought on by the war.  Bev's husband was killed in the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 and Dan's wife had died, sadly,in 1943 with Leukemia.  The story covers 3 months - Oct thru Dec.  Bev struggles with situations beyond her control. Her boss made improper advances to ward her, which she refused, and then fired her, saying he needed to let one of the returning veterans have their bookkeeping job in the company back.  She is raising her little girl alone, without even help from her parents, since they were killed in a car...

My dear friend, Mary is right on!  Here's what she recently posted: When I was a young child, I wanted to be older. I went to school where there were multiple classes in one room. I loved that because I could do my work and then listen to the other classes being taught to the older students. I loved learning. When I was 5, I wanted to be 6. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t wait to drive. Then I couldn’t wait until I graduated. Then I couldn’t wait to get married….you get the picture. Now that I’m 63, I've accomplished many of my dreams, simple as they were. I’ve married, had my babies, watched my children grow up, probably with some of the same dreams. I’ve watched my grandsons grow up and most likely will see great grand children before I depart this world. I guess what got me on this train of thought was a visit from a dear, old friend today. I’ve known him since I was 18 and he’s considerably older than me. I wonder what his dreams were as a child. Probably some were the ...