Ever since moving to this old farmhouse I've noticed a disturbing trend, namely, I'll experience 3 or 4 smooth, happy days and then 3 or 4 weeks of rough, overwhelming days. Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. heh.

And after 17 months, that pattern is bugging me. Royally.

What is it this time? Well, remember that MRI Tom had last week at that cushy spa-like place? The results came in the mail and gah... He has another torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder like the one he had in his left shoulder for which he had to have surgery. There were mentions of other things wrong with his right shoulder, but I was still reeling from the torn rotator cuff news and blocked-out the rest.

And my left foot hurts. But only when I bend it, which means I walk funny now. And slow. It began when I stood on my tip toes on a ladder hanging all that wallpaper last month, right before I finally gave in to the conviction to start walking daily. So I had to stop taking walks just after I began.

And then Lennon The Cat found a mouse in my bedroom last night, chased it around, caught it, then let it go so he could play with it some more. But it got away (and I kept waking-up, expecting the mouse to run across my bed. And of course, now Tom is, like, all, "Must . Kill. Mouse.").

Of course, you know what the temptation is, don't you? The temptation is to concentrate on what is going wrong, become a melancholy old lady and tell oneself, "Well, we had a lot of good, fun years--now it's time for the bad ones."

But I don't want to do that.

Instead, I want to give thanks in all things and I found a way to do that last night after I gingerly stepped back downstairs with my quilt, leaving Lennon to hopefully catch that darn mouse. Tom was channel surfing and came upon a documentary on PBS which showed a couple, probably in their 60's, who don't have running water, but must tote it from somewhere (didn't catch where). The husband was shown with various bottles of medications, the wife was worried about him and her face, you could tell, displayed all that worry, having aged her. Their children were grown and gone, having traveled to other states to find jobs.

And you know? While I watched just those five minutes of that program, something surprised me. I could so understand how that woman felt! In an odd way, I even felt I was her. She and I have been to some of the same places in our emotions and we have worried about the same things and both our faces show all that.

Wow. Of course, I've empathized with other wives and mothers before, but I think I saw those five minutes last night just so I'd be reminded that the trials we face come along so we'll know how to help others through those very same trials. So we'll know the right, comforting words and not just, like a parrot, quip a few 'overcoming' Bible verses, then walk on by, believing we've helped.

And if that lesson can stay with me, then it was worth it having that annoying little mouse move me downstairs at the moment that woman appeared on my tv screen.


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And then there was this highly annoying article this morning which made my blood boil.... ack. But I know, I know... Just be grateful I still have the freedom to hang my laundry outside........ Trust me, I am.


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"... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things..." Philippians 4:8