Thankful for the Ring(s)…
February 17, 2023, my birthday gift to myself. A Friday - of rest. After three straight weeks of work - including nights and weekends. A one day commute to Boston, prep for a board meeting, and an accreditation prospectus completed - all in this three weeks. Exhaustion after promotions, major surgeries, Pops’ hospitalization and stay in the rehabilitation wing - in just a few months. All tiring, so many blessings, but the last was a roller coaster. We are thankful to have him home in his own chair and with his dogs - even though we are fighting with him about eating protein instead of a fried biscuit, vegetables instead of sweets, and complying with the physical therapist. But for all of those things, I’m grateful…
Just a few weeks before, I sang over him, with tears, as he slept - so weak. I prayed for his healing. We have worried about Ma while Pops was in the hospital and since he came home. We also worry about making sure she is eating, and drinking plenty of water - she loves (insert sarcasm here) the stainless steel bottle I took her to keep up with her water intake. We love them, though, and know we are blessed to have them - home - to be worrying about.
With this gratitude for another year of life, I am also thankful for the ring - s. Having been so focused on everything else, I wasn’t thinking about our birthday tradition - the early morning, “Happy Birthday” phone calls. I had been thinking, instead, about what I wanted to ask the home health nurse when she comes today. My phone rang. I had to prepare my watch, to get the red button up - so that I could press record, just in case. When I saw the caller ID, I pressed first and then said, “Hello?” Pops started to sing, as he had for so many years. His voice strong, “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Lisa. I love you”. What a gift. A second, unexpected one come this morning. I wasn’t thinking, when Garry’s phone rang, that I would hear Ma singing “Happy Birthday” to me from the speaker. These are the things to remember.
As I have said before, we are not promised tomorrow. I want the two people in this picture, my Pops and my Ma, to know that I love them and that the intangible “rings” of those remembrances mean the world to me. Cherish the moments you have with the people you love…
Blessings ~
Lisa