Blindsided

Today was so jam-packed with events that I feel like I have aged a year in a day. This morning, Little Princess left our home to be placed with a family member.  We are feeling her loss and we will continue to do so.  Little Princess was with us for 8 months and she was firmly rooted in our family.  We were her people.  She is thrilled to be where she is, and yet it is obvious that she is also torn.  Poor little one.  The foster care system is brutal to the innocent children it serves.  We look forward to staying in contact with her relatives and having her come back to visit often.  We can imagine the loss her family has felt in her absence, too, and we are happy for them to have her with them for the holidays.  So many emotions.

Next, I took Angie to Portland for a follow-up appointment from her recent botox injections.  "Dr. Steve" spent a long time examining Angie's shoulder-much longer than usual. When he finished, he said, "How do you feel about a referral to a surgeon?".  Uh-oh.  More surgery?  Dr. Steve told me that the botox injections have not done as he had hoped and increased the mobility in Angie's shoulder.  He believes tendon release surgery may be needed to help her regain some range of motion in her arm.  UGH!  This news was completely unexpected.  I am having flashbacks of Angie's brain surgery, even though I know that this one will be a piece of cake in comparison.  Still.

The end of today was my favorite.  It almost made all of the rest worth it.  Tonight, we attended the wedding of our special friend, Pam, and her now-husband, Larry.  Pam was one of our first friends when we moved to Clatskanie and she has been one of our closest friends throughout the years.  Today, Pam and Larry celebrated a new beginning after each of them lost a spouse 10 years ago. The wedding was the most emotional, meaningful wedding I have ever attended.  Life is so precious and uncertain and to see these two experience a new beginning together meant so much to me.  Our girls were with us and they were equally touched, having grown up making christmas cookies in Pam's kitchen and having Pam's daughter, Sara, as their first and most loved babysitter.

Congratulations, Pam and Larry!  You inspire me and remind me that anything is possible.  God's plan for us can be hard to understand sometimes but it is always perfect.  If you are still breathing, there is hope.  I look to the next chapter for my family with some trepidation but I have courage knowing that God is in control, and I am not.  We are together, and that is what matters most.