...and a foggy brain. I'm a low-energy kind of gal with a bent toward introversion, so when life picks up speed and my energy reserves are depleted, the days often pass in a cloud of confusion (what day is it anyway?) and I'd rather not even answer the phone.
It was a combination of foolish pride and no other options that led me to believe I should host Thanksgiving dinner here on Pollywog Creek - the day after Louis was discharged from the hospital following surgery earlier in the week.
I was not the "hostess with the mostess." In a bit of a daze, I managed the basics, but I didn't take a single photo. How terrible is that - when Jessi, Mason, Austin, Nick, Kristin and Gavin and my niece Sommer were all here with Louis, Emily and me. Shameful.
In the weeks before his surgery, Louis worked hard to accomplish tasks he knew he would not be able to do for weeks. Fortunately for me, planting zinnias was one of them. It's been so lovely to have zinnias to pick for the house each day.
We've had a new visitor to Pollywog Creek this week. A large and banded carrier pigeon spent several days pecking at the grass and then fleeing into the pine trees when I breeched his personal space. I tried without success to photograph his ID band, but could never get close enough. If you know someone who is missing a pigeon, tell them to give me a call. He is large and really quite beautiful.
Isn't the dandelion seed an exquisite design - with details that twirl away in the breeze? Don't you marvel at the creativity of our God - at the tiniest details that usually go unseen?
And what about caterpillars? Gavin discovered this interesting character with his bright red eyes, yellow and white stripes, and black spikes in our back yard last week. I wonder what lovely thing this thorny creature will become.
Between trips to the hospital, preparing for and recovering from Thanksgiving, and a general lack of energy, I've rarely been able to delight in long walks these past two weeks. My joints and muscles have been protesting the added strain of long car rides, sleeping on the couch and caring for Louis as he recovers.
Have you ever put thigh-high anti-embolism stockings (also known as spandex on steroids) on someone? One of my friends acurately described it as wrestling an alligator. My boney, arthritic hands were hard on both of us, so we recruited Emily, with her thin and nimble fingers, to put the stockings on over Louis' feet where he and I could work together to pull them on up from the ankle. Team work.
Caring for Louis as he recovers has been an honor and a privilege. He has and would do the same for me, but it has reminded me of the verse (although taken out of context) that I considered many morning when I was caring for my mother as I asked the Lord to...
"Strengthen the weak hands,and make firm the feeble knees."
