Days 154 & 155 - In Ohio

I'm in Ohio! Amish country in the NE portion...near Lake Erie and Pennsylvania. This is a photo of an Amish buggy going down the road in the snow.

This is where I was raised: Farm country in Amish land. Isn't it beautiful?

Mom is recovering well from her matectomy. I can't believe it, but the day following her surgery -- the day I flew from Montana to Ohio -- the hospital released Mom to her home. Tubes and bulb syringes and gauze and bandages...and Tylenol for the pain. Unbelievable! But she's so thankful to be home instead of in that hospital. Beeps and telephone ringing and nurses in and out and an uncomfortable bed. She didn't sleep well, even after the terrible side effects of the anesthesia wore off.

She slept on the couch last night, propped up with pillows and warm blankies and fuzzy socks for warmth. I slept beside her in the La-Z-boy recliner so that if she woke and was in need of something, I'd be right next to her and could help.

She only woke once. She had a fabulous night! Praise the Lord!

Before bedtime, I knelt beside the couch, held her hands, and we prayed together and shed some tears together. What a blessing to have a mother to pray with -- to pray FOR! We read some scripture verses, turned out the lights and dozed off.

My brother is here from Missouri. My eldest sister lives a few towns over, and my youngest sister lives just next door. For the first time in years and years, the four of us siblings are together! I'm just sorry that it took something like cancer to bring us together again.

Back to today.

This morning, we slept in until 8 a.m. I made some hot oatmeal for breakfast and began to organize and clean mom's home. It will be easier for her to rest if the house is neat and tidy, I think. I spent hours cleaning floors, toilets, sinks, counters, cabinets, etc. It felt great!

I even took an afternoon nap in the quiet of the upstairs bedroom...in fact, the very bedroom that used to be mine when I lived here as "Daughter" nearly 20 years ago. Of course, the curtains have changed, the bed is different, and the walls are now purple, but it used to be my very room.

There's something so comforting about being "home." I thought of that this morning as I woke up and remembered where I was..."home." What a feeling of peace that came over me.

I wonder if that's how we'll feel when we get to heaven, as if we are now "home," and we're full of peace and serenity.

This afternoon, all four of us siblings sat together and posed for a photo shoot in the livingroom. How wonderful!

And following, I met some of my former best friends from high school up at the local coffee shop. We hadn't seen each other in four years. We've been meeting up and re-visiting with each of my return trips to Ohio. At first, we shared engagement rings, and then we shared our wedding photos and firstborn children, and then we shared trips to a nearby lake where all of our children swam together...and now, we share our wrinkles and widening bottoms! :)

My family in Montana is doing well...they miss me dearly! Well, I miss them dearly, too. But I can't help but feel excitement, too, at my opportunity to help my mother around her home...and not have to chase after a toddler, or fight fires between my two elder daughters.

Lord, I pray for my family back in Montana, asking that you grant them peace and cooperation as they work to meet each other's needs this week. I pray that my husband would step forward and be the head of the home and meet the needs of my girls during my absence.

I thank You for this opportunity to visit with my mother and father and siblings and friends. Amen.