Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Murphy's Law - more than a description

I'm sure you hve heard of Murphy's Law that says something to the effect that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. That is the unspoken mantra for our family. Not a day goes by without at least one disaster, usually there are 2 or more. This past week, we had 3 serious interupptions in our lives. Usually problems comee in three's, so we are hoping/praying that we have met our limit for this week at least.


Early in the week, August 1, we drove to Seattle Washington for a bone scan at Virginia Mason Clinic. We were leaving at 11:00 in the morning. I got a phone call at 9:00 that my grandma (my dad's mom) had a stroke and was paralized on her left side. My oldest son who has his driver's permit, took me to the hospital to see her, before we left for Seattle. I quickly packed up some stuff for our trip and then had him take me to the hospital. My husband left work early, packed the bags into the truck and then dropped off the girls to stay at friends houses and then meet me up at the hospital where he could pick me up before we left for Seattle.


My grandma had a stroke, leaving the left side of her body paralyzed. I was scheduled for a bone scan in Seattle at 8:00 am on Tuesday, so we wanted to leave on Monday so that we would be there on Tuesday for the appointment. While I visited my grandma at the hospital, I noticed that she was making some improvements, so I decided to continue for my bone scan in Seattle. So we drove to Seattle for the appointment. We were gone 2 days.

Good news! The bone scan showed that my big left toe was a nonunion despite the fact that there is a plate over that toe! So we will be having another surgery to fix that within 2 weeks.

While in Seattle (dun, dun, dun - music) my neice got beat up by her husband in front of her little daughter. She lives in Oregon, while we are in Washington. She was scared for her and her daughter, so as soon as her dh went to work, she packed up a little bit and took off for WA. She went to her parents house and called us later in the week. She wanted us to take her back to Oregon on Saturday, so that she could pick up the rest of her stuff. Of course we said, "Yes!" So now we have part of our weekend planned.


So after our trip to Seattle for the doctor, all was ok until we went to Oregon on Saturday (dun, dun, dun - music). When we went to my niece's house, someone had taken sugar and poured it all over the top of her fridge. Ants, over and inch long! There were spiders, and huge ants throughout the house! Her husband was put in jail and she was, so relieved to hear that. Now she didn't have to worry about running into him while she packed up the rest of her house.

Driving home that afternoon, we got a call that my grandmother had passed away. I felt terrible and guilty since I wasn't there when she died. I know she is in a better place and is not suffering anymore, I know that my mom, dad and sister were with her too, so she wasn't alone. I try to tell myself that I was HELPING my neice and that I couldn't have left her all alone either.

The bottom line is, that despite what is going on in our lives, it is always imperative to help others whenever the opportunity presents itself. This was one particularly rough week for me...finding out that I needed another surgery for my foot, my grandmother died and my niece was beaten up by her husband. All of these things really tug at our heartstrings, and can make us feel helpless, but in the face of adversity, keep your chin up and do something, anything for someone other than yourself and it will fill your soul with a peace that will make you feel better, no matter what you are going through. God is good and He will reward you for what you DO, not what you experience.