Negative!

That title pretty much sums up the conversation I had @3:30 with the surgeon's office! It was nice to breathe and smile again at the same time :-)

Fifteen minutes earlier, though I was rather distressed. It seems the hospital tells you to call your doctor's office the next day for the results but the results are often not in, yet. What's a person to do? Just keep calling and feeling sick each time they pick up the phone? The office said that often the reports don't come in for two or even three days and she understands just how stressful that is for people. I felt sorry for her having to deal with frightened people over a telephone.

Just as Bill was getting ready to leave for his class at church, the phone rang. Bill mistakened the caller from my friend, Deb, but I saw the caller ID and knew it was the doctor's office! Longest 1 second of my life was bringing that phone to my ear and lips.

So, to wrap up a very stressfull end to summer, let me say I'm thankful for your hugs and prayers (some of you knew about this earlier) and well wishes and I want to remind all of you women to ALWAYS check yourself every month, and ALWAYS schedule a mammogram, and ALWAYS know that God is in control, even if you aren't!

Have a great finish to September and I'll see you when the laundry is done and I'm finished with my pie! That could take some time!

Pricker Bushes

I mentioned pricker bushes a few posts back and said it was for a another story. Well, thanks to my friend Anne, I came across the picture to go with the story. LOL!!! There isn't much of a story and I don't have a poem to go with it but... Once upon a time there was a hill behind Anne's house and a bunch of kids from church who wanted a "winter weekend." So we complied. One of the featured activities was sledding on Morgan's Hill. It was an interesting hill, with bumps and a few little turns and a rocky drop off at the bottom that we never actually reached, but a nice long ride nonetheless. Well, after a few trips down which made the track nice and fast, it was my turn again, and for no good reason, other than it was going to be her turn next, Anne screams, "Peg! Look out!!" Since there was no danger in front of me, there had to be danger coming up behind me so I did the most sensible thing. I bailed from the sled as soon as I could, giving absolutley no thought to where I would land. Anne just happened to have her camera on hand and when she arrived, safely by sled .. she took my picture. She was laughing so hard, I can't believe this picture didn't blur; but it didn't so you can all see what I looked like climbing out of the pricker bushes :-) End of story! Well, not really; I got even with Anne when she was wearing her bunny slippers LOL!!!! but that's another story...

Thankfulness (cont'd, still)

My thoughts on thankfulness continues with friendship and all we share with each other. Joys and triumphs. Saddness and sorrows. Sometimes your friends are closer than family and that's not a bad thing, really! Here are a few ideas on friendship:

1. Never gossip about your friends. EVER.
2. Walk away when someone else starts to gossip .. about anybody! You can let them know why you walked away, later.
3. Make lots of friends ...younger ones, so that when you get older, you won't be the one saying "Goodbye."
4. Pray for them, often. Don't wait to be asked .. you already know most of their needs, anyway.
5. Call them if you haven't seen them in awhile ... keep in touch via phone, mail, email and social networks. There's really no excuse.
6. Send them Christmas cards. They aren't expensive and it is still fun to get stuff in the mail addressed personally.
7. It's ok to be friends with your adult kids, but let them have their own friends. You can be friendly with them but from a distance. The reverse is also true.
8. Friendship is cultivated ... like a flower garden. Friendships don't grow over night. Acquaintances, do; friends do not.
9. Some friends can be dropped in on; some friends can't. Be a good friend and figure this out.
10. Don't be afraid to say "No" to a friend. If you are too busy, too tired, too 'whatever', your friend will understand. If they don't, then perhaps they are only an acquaintance.