He Is Home

Norm is finally home! I thank God for his grace and mercy. Norm is doing well but he still has IV antibiotics for the infection in his spine and he will not be able to lift anything over 10 pounds for at least six to eight weeks. I will continue to stay here in San Diego with my wonderful family.
I am a person who is blessed to have two places to call home. I miss my husband terribly and my cats and my friends and my house but I am at home here in San Diego with my parents and surrounded by friends and family. The truth is though that I would still be blessed even if this were not the case. Blessings come from God above and I give him all the praise and glory.

Have you ever found yourself feeling two opposite emotions at the same time? This week I felt a mixture of heavy hearted sadness and joy. The joy is from spending time with my nieces. The heavy heartedness comes from watching and hearing about all the devastation along the Gulf Coast states. Knowing that tens of thousands of people have lost everything and many people have died it causes one to stop and reflect upon so many things. We live at the mercy of nature. Here in California we could easily have such a major disaster upon us in a matter of moments if the “big one” hits. Also, I have been thinking a lot about the years I lived in Morgan City, Louisiana and how many times I’ve visited New Orleans.

Last Friday I was getting my hair cut at the salon where my mother goes and we saw a friend I had not seen since my wedding 6 1/2 years ago. Donna was 10 years old and I was 16 when she and I became friends while we lived in Morgan City. Her father was in the Coast Guard and they had moved from San Diego to Morgan City and lived in the house right behind ours. My mother was going for a walk one day when she saw their car with its California license plate. She knocked on the door and introduced herself as a fellow Californian. Don and Bonnie and their children Donna and Richie became our lifelong friends that day. Within a couple of years we moved back to San Diego and eventually they came back to San Diego too and our family friendship has continued to this day.

Donna and I spent the hour reminiscing those days in the deep South and all the fun times we had. She reminded me of the time the two of us went for a walk to the McDonald’s and I suggested we go through the drive-through. She was afraid to because we were not in a car but I said it was okay because I’m on wheels. LOL nobody complained and they gave us our order as if we were in a car! She said she thought I was so cool because I was daring to do such a thing. Knowing that I was cool for at least once in my life makes me feel good.

Friday evening my brother and his family came over. My niece Zoe is nine months old and standing up by herself. She is so cute and gets so excited over her accomplishment. She likes my wheelchair and grabs ahold of my foot rests and plays with my feet. Hannah is eight years old and she is full of energy and likes to draw. Mackenzie is five and she is learning to ride a bike. We went to the park near my parents place and Mackenzie practiced her bicycle riding and Hannah zoomed around on her razor. It was so much fun to watch them play and be a part of their fun. Hannah and Mackenzie are very helpful to me and give me lots of hugs.

Mackenzie is here now so I need to finish this posting so I can play with her!