Running the Gauntlet

This is what my September has felt like so far.

Challenge #1:  My Mom's health is declining.  She has Alzheimer's and is in an assisted living facility.  She is more confused, not wanting to eat and staying in bed most of the day.  She has been fighting nausea and diarrhea the past several weeks.  Her doctor feels she will benefit from going into hospice care.  He feels she is very frail and may not last more than six months.  I had to evaluate the information, talk to family members and make a decision.

Challenge #2:  Tom began having health issues.  There are now concerns with the condition of his heart.  He is on oxygen now.  We are doing tests to see exactly what is going on with his heart.  This is on-going.

Challenge #3:  I went for a bike ride and took a small fall.  Didn't brake or skin-up anything.  My right knee (which is the better one) took a HARD hit in the area below my kneecap.  It flat part of that knee (the area you kneel on) has been numb since the fall.  Totally no feeling on the surface.  I'm walking fine - I can weight-bear.  Mostly soft tissue damage, probably irritated the heck out of that bursa and it is healing slowly.

Challenge #4:  Came from dealing with Challenge #3.  After a week of my knee not getting better and being scared about having no feeling there, I went to the doctor.  (I have no insurance, so going to the doctor is a last resort situation.  Tom has VA  to help him, thank God!)  In taking my history, the doctor learned I hadn't had a mammogram for two years.  She told me about a program that offered free mammograms to those who met the criteria.  I met it.  I got one. 

I got a call the next morning that they had found a spot in my right breast and they wanted to take another mammogram to double check it.  Of course they called on a Friday and couldn't get me in until Monday.  WHY does bad news always come on a Friday??  And you have all weekend to stew and worry before you can actually DO anything about it??? 

It was a very LONG weekend - but by Saturday I had turned it over to the Lord.  I figured He already knew the outcome of the test.  He knew what was in store for me.  Me worrying wouldn't do anything to change the situation.  I decided to put myself in His hands (again) and through His strength I would be able to handle whatever the outcome would be.  It worked out wonderfully.  Turns out what they saw was a lymph node and it was perfectly normal.  Amazing how a scare like that puts everything into perspective...

All of that within the same two weeks! 

School's Beginning - Another View

Consider this from a new teacher to the system:

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said,

"Let me see if I've got this right: You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job.

You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of anti-social behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.

You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English and Spanish by letter, email, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps.

You want me to do all this and then you tell me that I can't pray?"