Creating my future, one miracle at a time

So, I’m not getting in writing every day. But I’m getting most days, and I’m not going to beat myself up about missing a day. Some are just too full and tiring, and I’m asleep before I can write anything. Yesterday was one of those. Maybe I should write in the morning, when I’m fresh, about the day before.

Today was just slow and stay home. Slight headache, not much accomplished, except I did take an Elance test and rank in the top 5% in English Word Usage.

Monday I got right up and got on over to Ann’s pretty early, after only taking care of a few duties at home and making sure Thomas had a list for the day.
I caught her out in the yard. She offered to stop with the landscaping and go on in, but I told her I thought she ought to take advantage of the slightly cooler temps and the nice breeze we were having, and she agreed. So we spent a couple of hours outside, and I ended up helping her move a shrub from one spot to another. We both worked up an impressive sweat. There are pictures. I’ve got to remember to ask her for copies, so maybe I can add them here.
We had lunch together, and then started on another wedding project. We were cutting tulle lengths and sorting them out for use in making chair decorations. We got a little over half done. We’ll probably work on that some more tomorrow. Thomas and I both will be going over for some more wedding prep fun. At some point Bethany and another woman, Inez, showed up with the dress. It looks incredible on Bethany, better than the pictures in the catalog. It was fun spending time with women, chatting and keeping our hands busy.

At twenty we worry about what others think of us. At forty we don't care what others think of us. At sixty we discover they haven't been thinking of us at all.

These are the kind of women I come from and am surrounded by.

First.
My husband told me about a spill his cave girlfriend took in a cave the other day. He said it looked really bad and he was amazed at the time that she wasn’t much more hurt. But she pushed on through the cave for another couple of hours, until they’d seen what they’d planned to see and climbed back out. It was when they got above ground and she didn’t have walls to brace against that he realized how difficult it was for her to walk and how much pain she must actually have been in all that time. She never once complained. He was properly awed. His comment was, “I guess it’s something about you birth-giving people.” (I’m married to one of the few men for whom it is not completely foolish to have hope. —thank you Suzette Hayden-Elgin for that description)

Second
My sister-in-law. She and my brother had been trying to have one more baby. She got pregnant and was looking forward to making the announcement at Christmas. They told her and my parents at Thanksgiving but swore them to secrecy. Then, a week or two after Thanksgiving she woke up spotting. She called her doctor who said to come in immediately. Since my brother was out of town she had to take both of my nieces (four and two) with her. When she got there, either she or Princess had to go to the bathroom, so they were all three in that little room when she began to gush blood down her leg. Of course Princess sees blood and begins to start screaming, “Mommy, Mommy what’s wrong? What’s wrong!” which makes screaming baby start doing what she does best. So there she is, in a strange bathroom, losing a planned and wanted baby, and keeping it all together so she can comfort Princess and get everyone calmed down a little before someone comes to see who’s being murdered. And when we’re all together the 21st for Christmas, she managed to only pause a few seconds before managing to go on, “when I gave up caffeine . . . a few months ago.” That girl had my utter awe.

No matter how long he lives, no man ever becomes as wise as the average woman of forty-eight.
H. L. Mencken