Celebrate Life

Today, hubby and I sang with our church choir for a funeral. The gentleman, Chuck, passed away a month ago from a long battle with cancer. I did not know him very long, but I knew he was quiet, a faithful man, loved his wife Elaine fiercely and was devoted to our church. What I didn't realize was that he had been an elementary school teacher and he was a fan of opera - German opera in particular.

His wife Elaine has been a source of inspiration in many ways to me over the years,but in the final months of Chuck's life and especially over these past four weeks, I am inspired even more. She placed Chuck firmly in God's hands. She prayed that he would pass peacefully. She was convinced and content in her belief that Chuck was in Heaven and he was no longer in discomfort. She smiled, at times through tears, but she always had a smile on her face. You could see she was content, she was at peace.

The service today was beautiful. The Scripture talked about leaning on God and trusting in Him. As a choir we sang "How Can I Keep from Singing" (a favorite of Elaine's) and "Jesus Draw Me Nearer (May this Journey)," a favorite of our choir. There were some tears, but there were mostly smiles and laughter.

I left there thinking, "This is the best funeral I have ever been to." Hubby told Elaine that the service was perfect and he wanted the exact same service for him. Elaine felt the music was the service. Everything that was said or sung today from prayers to scripture to music, was a celebration. Celebration of music, which was very important to Elaine and Chuck, a celebration of God's love and promise to us, and of course just the celebration of Chuck's life itself.

Death is not pleasant. I have lost loved ones and friends and it has devastated me. However, I have learned that you cannot dwell in the passing. Their death is just one moment of their life's story. That moment has its place in your heart and mind, but we most focus on all the living moments. Remember their laugh, the music they loved, how they crinkled their nose when they were perplexed, their not so successful cooking attempt, their love of pets. Remember their smile, how their eyes looked when they held their child for the first time, how their hand felt in yours.

Elaine told us she was lonely and that she missed Chuck terribly, but that it was okay. I believe it will be. She will find her way. Of course she is lonely. It is a natural feeling. So as her church family we will love her through it.

She did give us a piece of advice as we gave her hugs and said our goodbyes today. It was quite simple, "Be good to each other."

Be good to each other. Celebrate life. What else is there?

This is a photo we took on a trip to the Adirondacks a couple of years ago. It just seems to peaceful to me.

Thankful

Have you heard of Word of the Year? There is a secular and faith based way to choose your year. One way to do it is to pick one word that represents something you want to focus on in the New Year. A faith based way is to pray to God and ask Him "What do you want me to focus on? How can I grow closer to You?" You may get an answer right away or it could take days even weeks.

Recently, I decided I wanted to have a Sacred Word to focus on in 2017. I felt it would be helpful to me for my prayer life and to help clear my mind so I can focus better. I prayed about it and the word THANKFUL came to mind.

So I make a point every day to thank God for something. Yesterday I was thankful for the persistent rain. I was thankful that my husband came home from work safely. Thankful that my daughter had a safe day at school. (The school is very safe,but with the amount of school shootings that have happened over the years, I am always thankful it hasn't happened in our school district.)

Today:

I am thankful for my husband.
I am thankful for my daughters.
I am thankful for my husband's job.
I am thankful for excellent health insurance.
I am thankful.

Do you have a word of the year? What are you thankful for?

Preparation

This week's focus is preparation. Next week I am having an outpatient surgery on my left foot. I am having bunion surgery. I had heard of bunions but never knew what they were. I always thought it was some sort of growth on the foot. Nope. One of the bones in my big toe is pushed out and it can be quite painful. Thank goodness for the bunion gel pads I found in the drug store.

Anyway, next week is the procedure and the doctor told me I have to stay off my foot for at least two weeks. I am a stay at home mom and do the majority of the housework and shopping. My hubby will be taking time off from work to stay home with me and help me. So this week I will do the grocery shopping and stock up on some favorite, easy meals for us.

This will be the third surgery I've had in a year. I had two wrist surgeries in 2016. Preparing for surgery is old hat to me by now and I have a standard check list of things to do the best I can before the procedure.

First, clear my calendar for the recovery time. Let hubby know our daughter's schedule so he can drive her to and from her activities. I also clear my calendar of any commitments I have. If it is a doctor's appointment then I reschedule or if it is a meeting or event, then I recuse myself from it.

Next, I go through my recipe list, which I have on www.pepperplate.com, and pick four or five recipes that I can prepare ahead of time. I only do 4 or 5 because we eat leftovers and there will be at least one fast food trip and we tend to have Sunday dinner with my folks every week. I pick recipes that can be frozen easily.

Then, I go over the instructions for prep given to me by my doctor. I usually need to stop taking ibuprofen and vitamin and supplements five to seven days before surgery. I make a note in my calendar to remind me every day to not take those. If I am having pain, Tylenol is usually okay to take.

I also start gathering items or supplies I may need after surgery. For my last wrist surgery I needed to have alcohol wipes to use three times a day over my stitches. I made sure I had gauze pads to place over my stitches when I wore my wrist brace after the wrapping came off. This time around I bought a foot sleeve to protect it in the shower. I made phone calls today and got information on renting a Roller Scooter to help me get around the first few weeks.

Finally, I make sure laundry is done and put away. I go through my closet and find clothes that will be comfortable and appropriate to wear the day of the surgery and the next few days. Since the target area is my foot I figure my sweatpants and boot leg cut pants will be needed. Dresses would work too. I have discovered LuLaRoe clothing and I fell in love with their Carly dresses. I figure they will work in the clothes rotation.

Lessons learned each time make the next time easier. The one thing I definitely need to tell the doctor next week is I need pain medicine that works. The one I had for my last wrist surgery did absolutely nothing for me the first twenty four hours. I do not want to go through that again.

As annoying as it is to have another procedure, I am hopeful that this will be the last one for quite some time and peaceful that I am doing everything I can to prepare ahead of time.

If you have a surgery or procedure coming up this year, feel free to use my tips to help yourself or a loved one. Let me know what are some things you do to prepare for a surgery.