As I finished up my last post I was thinking that my next post would be all about the wonderful time I had during my long-awaited Girls’ Week.
I would be sharing about the wonderful family and friends (aside from my immediate family) that I would be blessed to spend time with –

Cousin Robin who picked me up from the airport and then hung around with Elna and I for dinner. How delightful that was!

My buddy Lynne who had just arrived home from a hiking excursion out west and would be leaving shortly for Hawaii to welcome a new grandbaby. How wonderful to spend the day with her!
I might be remembering my brave brother who (along with his lovely wife and daughter) joined our group on Sunday. I say brave because he was the only guy, and there were 10 of us girls! And I’ll also be remembering that I didn’t think to take any pictures of that! Doof.
Or maybe I would be sharing about the fun time I had with my great-nieces-

Michele – an energetic 2 year old

Her little sister, Sawyer, who is just about 10 months!

And Rianne – twelve years old and helpful beyond words!

Or maybe I’d be remembering about the time we spent just hanging out on the lawn (getting ready to chase Michele!)


Anyone for a dip?

I’d be remembering the last minute scramble for a group picture of This Year’s Girls –

or the beautiful sunsets that we were blessed with –


And of course I will always remember the quiet times I had with my precious sisters, whether it was our early morning conversation with that first cup of coffee still snuggled under the covers, all of us in one bed or as we sat on the back porch and watched the sunset on our last evening together.

There are so many memories, and they are precious all.

But perhaps the most vivid memory of this year’s Girls’ Week will be the phone call that I got mid-morning on Memorial Day saying that Gary was in the ER in Nevada City with weakness on his right side. Within the next few hours he would be diagnosed as having a subdural hematoma and would be needing emergency brain surgery. By the end of the day (and upon being examined by a neurosurgeon) it was determined that the surgery might not be necessary, but I was on the first plane I could get and heading back across the country. From that point on the memories turn to blessings-
*Getting a flight that had me in Sacramento by noon on Tuesday. And making all the connections even after my hair barrette set off the security alarm in NH and I had to have a full body search!
*Having our daughter Lara meeting me in the airport (she was already “mostly” on vacation that week, so she was able to get to Sacramento on Monday!)
*Having wonderful, wonderful friends, Jo and Roy Butler, who took Gary to the ER and stayed with him until they got him into a bed in the ICU at a larger hospital. They kept me up to date on developments and were calm and steady and superb.
*Having my sisters with me to help me (and hold me) through those first uncertain hours.
*Realizing that Gary was getting excellent care from a top-notch hospital and neurosurgeon, even though I was 2000 miles away and could do nothing to help.
*Knowing that between my family, my SOWER family, my Facebook friends, and friends and family of all those mentioned before, Gary and I were both constantly before the throne of Grace.

We’re home now. There was no surgery, so the hematoma (apparently the result of a fall almost two months ago) remains and the doctor feels that his symptoms will continue to subside and the hematoma will resolve itself. His symptoms are mild, but include a “fuzziness” regarding his surroundings and while he can grip his coffee cup, he’s not always sure he’s putting it down on the table (not visually, but spatially). And he really likes to hold my hand when we’re walking. 🙂 Right now the thought of driving the motorhome anywhere (we were scheduled to leave for South Dakota on Sunday) is very far from his mind. The kind people here at Diamond Arrow have assured us that we can stay parked here as long as necessary (another one of the blessings) so we’ll be hanging out here until the time is right for us to go.

If this is “old news” to you, I can only thank you from the bottom of my heart for your constant thoughts and prayers and words of encouragement. For the news to go from “emergency brain surgery” to “go home, listen to your body and take a Tylenol if you get a headache” in 36 hours is certainly a “God Thing” in my book. If this is “new news” to you, we hope you will add us to your prayer list. The days ahead are uncertain, but we are confident that we are in God’s tender care.

Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see.”
— Corrie Ten Boom

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