Multitude Monday V

Today I'm grateful, so grateful, for ...

33. Thanksgiving Dinner.

34. Operation Turkey.

35. Jared, for bringing me a bag of Pamela's Gluten-Free baking mix for no particular reason.

36. Wes and Liz Garratt, for coming over one night last week just to sing (loudly) with us and share some soup.

37. The Dixons, for dinner last night, for driving me to the Table meeting last week, and for raising our boys together.

38. The words of my children that make me laugh. Example: Today I showed the children a picture of Louisa May Alcott (it's her 178th birthday) without telling them her name. I asked them, based on the clues in the picture, what they could tell about when she might have lived. "Look at her clothes," I nudged. "Oh, she lived very, VERY long ago," observed Eliza confidently, "like probably the 1970's."

39. The words of my children that keep me rooted and grounded. Today my mother-in-law called to let me know that Bethany, the girl who gave Caroline CPR after her accident, was in the ICU with a serious illness. I called Bethany's mom and received permission to visit. Leaving Ian and Eliza at taekwondo, I took Caroline, who wanted to go, and headed over there with Vanessa -- I needed a friend since I was already feeling teary-eyed and shaky after reading about her condition, the very rare LeMierre's Syndrome.

In the car:
Me: Okay Lord I am trying to trust in You but DO NOT TAKE BETHANY, that can't be Your will right now, and I know that You can move mountains, You are mighty to save ...
Caroline: "Mom, what is Seton?"
Me: "Huh? Oh, that's the hospital where Bethany is."
C: "Oh. It's a hospital for lifeguards?"
Me: "Mmm. Oh, no. It's a hospital for anyone who's having an emergency."

At the hospital, we walked in to see a feverish girl breathing shallowly, hooked up to tubes that kept her supplied with oxygen. I worried a bit that Caroline might find the scene a bit disturbing, but she chirped, "Hey, Bethany! You have a glowy thing on your finger just like I did!"

The nurse, ready to enforce ICU guidelines, popped her head in.
"Is she [Caroline] Bethany's sister?"
Bethany's mom: "Ummmm ... not exactly. It's a long story. But she's very special to Bethany."
Caroline: "Well, she saved my life. I drowned in a swimming pool. But not to death."
The nurse left us alone.

Then Bethany -- who could barely speak -- made plans with Caroline to go out to ice cream as soon as possible. Caroline specified that it should be Amy's Ice Cream.


40. The promise of ice cream.