Humbling Learning

Day 4 & 5 ..... To clean or not to clean ..... Or .... is my sense of "clean" dependent on whose here and whose not here? Add 5 more humans and the senses heighten especially when your not feeling well. This is my first weekend with the whole crew here. My place looks like it's been "really lived in" and I feel a bit frazzled. It's not really choas .... but .... my senses feel a bit overwhelmed. All said and done the kitchen is fairly clean, dishes are getting done, laundry is under control, and outside of very active toddlers and the debris field they create it's not all that bad. We've done this before ..... all living together under the same roof. This time we all have had some "growing up" we've done and experiences under our belts that is making this journey start out on a different foot this time. Sometimes "Suddenly" happens, and you have to take it in stride! ...... People comment on our choices of taking in "homeless" people. .......
      Us "normal" folk whatever that is suppose to be, live life in a bubble often forgetting about or possibly never knowing what being "without, or even homeless" may feel like.  We may have jobs we go to with regularity ..... interruption break ..... My little "pixie" who is 4 just came in and wanted a box to color so she could put her Dad's name on it and give to him.  Pixie is 4 years old with very long curly hair and big blue eyes, she is a tiny wee thing, with a giant personality and a bigger attitude. I spent the first year of her life with her. ..... Back to my thots about "Normal Folk" ..... and organizations or clubs we belong to, we have a home and vehicles, TV and other things that us working folk just take for granted. If you own your own home, and the mortgage is do-able .... you have a sense of security that grows and goes with you. But those other folk .... those who are drifting from place to place, job to job ... and sometimes in between a place to call home and/or homeless and can't seem to get ahead or on their feet ..... they have a story too ..... Physically they may have disabilities and injuries that need medical attention. Without health insurance they just don't qualify for this kind of luxury that we who have insurance take for granted. Then add low income jobs, old vehicles with issues and a family and you have a recipe for a homeless situation to happen.

Day Three ...... This evening was non-eventful ..... outside of my decision to stop by the ER with an "elephant on my chest" ..... feeling a bit dizzy and "hurting" I wouldn't call it chest pains but I guess I could call a few of the zips and zings " running down my arm and through my chest "a pain" I have a high pain tolerance, what some may call PAIN! I may not. .... This all began at work earlier, took some aspirin for precaution. At my age your imagination still can run away with you ..... yet precaution can keep me alive too .... and I like that idea muchly! (The doctor said everything was fine and go talk to my primary care physician about getting some heart tests if I feel I need to .. )
        .....When i arrived home, I finally dug another A/C out of the garage for our latest editions room. Hulled it out back and took the garden hose to it and a 3 & 4 year old .... oops ..... wet kids ..... wet giggly, laughing wet kids ..... It's amazing how much fun a cleaning job becomes with giggly little kids around and a garden hose. Back to a thought about the doctors recommendation ...... I had the same type of "suggestion" from my primary care physician a year ago when she discovered some nodules on my thyroid.  I ask her what I sould do ... I was told she isn't allowed to suggest anything to me .... HUH?? If I didn't come up with "the idea" she wasn't allowed to prompt me. Isn't that what doctors are for is to help us make good health care decisions? ........ I made a decision to go see a specialist .... My nodules were ok. . I love the ground work that is being laid for Obamacare ...... when I make a "decision" to go see a specialist ... depending on if "someone" likes me or maybe if I am "politcally correct" enough ..... my insurance may or may not cover me depending again on if the doctor actually recommends me going or It is considered that I ask to go thus not qualifying me for insurance coverage. .... I can see it coming down the road.  ...... My attitude is "Oh well, hey sara sara" and get over it! ....

Day 2 evening ...... been battling a flu bug, you know that nasty kind with a high fever, aches and pains, a sore throat? yep ..... left work yesterday early ..... and today wasn't even a question! ..... Tomorrow it's back to work irregardless of how I feel. Our life moves forward even when we'd like to stop and get off the pathway for a bit and have some down time, especially when your sick.
     "My assignment" for the time being is this mentally broken, emotionally crippled,  damaged family of 5 that I have been blessed with. Ill health, mental & physical blows from circumstances beyond their control, poor choices ranging from self made, to totally out of their control beyond their ability to help themselves, to being blinded to any good choices, to sheer determination to keep going on their part has put us on a collision with our lives together. A New Journey, another chapter in the saga of our connections heading to somewhere that we don't know yet. Faith is our only source and hope at this point. Faith that God is bigger then all we have to deal with. Hope in God that He can get us through this journey together no matter what.
       Our human walk runs parallel with our spiritual walk frequently. We stumble and bumble through the suddenly's of life, making quick and instant decisions. Often the suddenly's are such a surprise that we either shrink into a hole or come up swinging and hope for the best. My personality often finds me coming up swinging and hoping for the best ..... I'd like to sound really spiritual but I am at about 50% on the prayer end of asking, but me and God are working on that ..... sigh! especially since my Blessings arrived!
   

Day 2 .... of blogging, ..... but this saga began on May 15th 2013. Our added family started in our direction with a phone call in the wee hours of the morning. I headed out into the night to a place I had no idea where it actually was, except for a few hurried directions. Driving in the dark with myself behind the wheel isn't my favorite thing, then add I was headed to somewhere "down the road" ..... needless to say after a wrong turn and a drive out into the backwoods, a hurried turn around, and a frantic phone call to  the "other person's phone" ..... I was told "never mind!! " ...... Prayer or as i like to call it talking to God, is a daily learning experience for me.  I was doing it a lot in that wee hour of that Wednesday morning. It was 4:00AM ..... My first prayer was for God's hand to intervene in this domestic dispute situation. My second prayer was for the words of my Hubby as I ran out the door ..... "NO!!" .... Ok God he just said NO! and I am here heading out the door anyway ..... HELP!! ..... As I received the "never mind" from the other person on the other end of the phone, I already saw God's hand at work. So my prayer for Him to intervene in this whole situation was a lot easier for me to believe.
       My Hubby and I live on two seperate "plain's" yet we are very functionable as a couple. I often tell people our ships raely ever dock in the same port. Yet he is my best friend and my solid rock. This year will be 29 years together.Not always easy and definitely not always smooth. Between taking in "homeless folk & homeless animals" we rarely have ever been alone. My life is surrounded by my animals and my job, his life is surrounded by his job and his involvement with search and rescue, both with a search and rescue team and a Dog Search Team and most important MOLLY!. Then to add 5 humans from age 3 to 39 to this mix and you really begin PRAYING A LOT MORE!! ...... more like HELP ME LORD!! 
       I think I have repeated to myself at least in the last week "THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME. !!" at least 10 times a day or more. It's about this family who need us right now. ...... and about my husband's "NO" ..... again I have been in prayer for God to help him ...... this family doesn't have a choice at this point, we are all they have ..... and I am sure God has a plan for all of us. He always does as long as I don't botch it up ..... and let "ME" get in the way. Last night my hubby was attempting to repair our riding lawn mower, unsuccessfully I might add .... when Shawn went out to help and assist they were able to get it done together, God knew my hubby would need some help.
     

The Beginnings of NOW .....

And suddenly ..... we go from a fairly "un-normal" family of 2 plus 8 to 9 four footed furry babies to a really haphazard family of 7 plus the animals ..... Ok .... so here's our story, I am an animal advocate ... I love animals .... I actually love "most creatures". Over the course of "years" we have inherited from others who feel they no longer want or can keep their pets ..... Molly she is our Chocolate Lab we were blessed with the day after Christmas in 2007, she weighs in @ about 62 lbs. Then there is Cobi he is a cross between a Black Lab and a Blue Heeler, he goes about 85 lbs. He came to us with the name of Cobi but he truly is an "Eyore" type creature from Winnie the Pooh. Our most recent acquired dog is Abby, she belonged to my 7 year old grandson. She isn't quite a year old yet. She is an Akita / Shepherd mix. and goes about 47 lbs. Then there is the cats .... Scrappy is a long haired gray and white  fat "something" with an ornery disposition and a crumpled ear. Tigger was dropped off @ my church, by the front door ..... he was a tiny thing. Mims and Garfield are litter mates; Mims is inside, she is a tortoise shell and Garfield who is a yellow striped cat stays outside most the time.  Our most recent addition is a yellow and white cat I call Butterscotch. Then there is Dusty who is about 18 years old in human years, he is a gray max cat. I was blessed with him when my daughter moved out of state. ...... Now for the people ... there's a mom, dad, a 12 year old and two toddlers 3 & 4 ..... Life is definitely not going to be boring!