From my French Doors...

I've kept myself from blogging lately because I didn't have anything uplifting to say.

However, my mind is full of emotions and feelings and words that if I don't let them out soon, I'll likely explode. Since I don't want to explode here goes.

We are still dealing with husband's health issues. Back surgery the end of March lead to another surgery to reopen the incision four weeks later due to infection.

That surgery left him with a wound vacuum which I'd never heard of nor seen. It vacuums out the wound as the wound heals from the inside out. We've had non stop problems with the vac seal.

While he was in the hospital the last time he grew quite weak and had to have some rehab in hospital before he came home. WE learned he was weak because of the strong meds and once those were withdrawn he felt quite well.

Now home we're dealing with him being plugged in to the electric for part of each day. A pain for him, for sure.

He has made several forays around the lawn on his lawn tractor surveying the property and checking out what he cannot do. Our daughter Susan and grand daughter Samantha have kept up the outside work, including mulching, weeds etc. The lawn is lovely this summer from all their hard work.

So we sit inside or on the deck out back and admire all that we cannot do. (Work which I have to admit I never do anyway!)

Sitting here in the dining room, I look through the French doors which are open onto the deck and I hear birds chirping and water bubbling from the little pond I have on the porch. It makes for a lovely morning.

Today we go to the infectious disease doctor to have R's back wound checked and cultured. We pray that it is healing as it is supposed to do.

When he started out on this journey the surgery was to release a nerve from being pinched in his spine. Now it's lead to a long recovery that will most likely take all summer.

Recently I talked to someone who sympathized with us and said how awful to have this happen to R.

I remembered the story about the man who had no shoes and was sad until he saw the man with no feet.

The story causes me to be thankful for our situation and to have empathy with those who are suffering worse.

We count our blessings one by one and are grateful for where we are in this life we've been given.

WE all have different paths with different blessings and different obstacles. It's how we make our life trip that counts.  We try to travel on ours without being angry or unhappy but with gratefulness and thanksgiving.

A brief update on Vada Faith in paperback form. I just finished what I hope is the last proof. The books should be available online at Amazon by mid June. This process was much longer than I anticipated but that's partly due to my perfectionism. I could not let it go to press with any mistake that I caught beforehand. And of course I caught several.  This was costly in time but hopefully the end product with show the love and care I've given it.

How are things in your world as we head into summer?

Read any good books? Taken any fun trips? What are your plans? Please share. Would love to hear from you.

Hopefully I won't stay away so long next time. I love that I got great comments on my story MICRO. Hope to have a collection of short stories published by fall. WE'll see how things progress here with R's back.

Blessings to all.