Mama

     As I sit in the dark, light streaming in from the hall, I’m watching my mother as her ragged breaths rise and fall in her chest. You always know the day will come. You know and prepare as much as you can. But until you have walked “through the valley of the shadow of death” do you understand the stillness. 

     The oxygen machine becomes white noise and an occasional noise escapes my mom, otherwise, stillness. Knowing beyond a doubt my mom has a heavenly home, stillness. Psalm 46:10 “Be STILL and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Exodus 14:14 “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

     Mom wanted to go home end of the week. She was up to it but the house wasn’t ready for her. I had the whole summer/winter switch out happening. I promised her I would take her home Tuesday (tomorrow). Little did I realize that mama may not have known it at the time, but home is where she is headed. It isn’t on my “tomorrow” schedule but sure seems like she has let the station without me. She didn’t care if I had a mess or not. She has a trip planned. Seems home isn’t Marshall Drive this trip.

     We have all expected this for several years but mom just kept rallying. Daddy passed and we knew mom was going to be right behind him. NOPE. COVID kept her away from us for more than 370 days but she made the best of it while we struggled. COVID knocked her down one time but not for long. Three years ago the cardiologist said she “MIGHT” have 2 years left with her leaky valve. Her response to him was “as long as I live 24 hours longer than LeBron”. Well, she has and then some.

    I will be here for my mama just as she has been throughout my life. Good or bad, easy or hard we went together. There are lots of funny stories to tell about mom that will be coming later. For now, I’m sitting in the stillness but not alone.

Disney travel

Yesterday started so early heading to the Atl airport after 3.5 hrs of sleep. I had a few firsts…. While I still got the pat down and the bag search, the TSA actually went by pretty quick and they didn’t destroy the entire contents of my bag. I get on the plane and immediately there was a “middle” front row seat. MORE leg room for this stupid brace! I’ve never sat front row nor have I ever sat middle seat between two strangers. Thankfully, the young girl on one side and a nice looking guy on the other made the 1:15 hr trip nice….. quiet and didn’t stink! SCORE! Plane lands and I’m first off the plane! Wow   That was a weird first. 

Met up with my travel agent Taylor Whitson - Off to Neverland Travel in Orlando. I love when business meets pleasure. I would never be able to navigate Disney now. The electronic need is a must and sooo many things have changed. Again, travel agent! If you don’t have a Disney specialist in your phone and you go to Disney you are not making the most of your money. There is no way to know all the ins and outs required and the things one is missing. 

We love the food and wine festival and here we are! France is by far the winner with three of our favorite things. The Grand Marnier Orange Slush, the Briche aux Escargot and The Beignet aux Trois Fromages are worth the trip alone. Canada’s filet never misses! The Appleseed Orchard had a flight that included a Blake’s Hard Cider Co. Saint Chéri Bourbon Barrel Aged Cherry that was nothing like it sounds. It was a great celebratory drink in my book. The bubbles kept me from enjoying more than a few sips but I could see where this would be a glass of goodness.  

I pushed through on a body that is yelling to stop and I’m so glad I didn’t! We had virtual que spots for Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind. In a word: WOW!! In more words….. Holy Smokes! Incredible! Amazing! Beyond expectations and belief. I was so glad I went in blind. I hadn’t heard anything about the ride and Taylor hadn’t either. What a great surprise it was for us. 

The rain started and we never care. We were wet and were having the time of our lives. Hopped over to Magic Kingdom for fireworks. We were hoping the rain didn’t “dampen” the fun but they went on as scheduled. One can never go wrong ending their day with Magic. 

Our day however, was not over. Back over to Coronado to Three Bridges Bar and their infamous corn dip. Taylor had praised this stuff until I thought I would be eating liquid gold. That wasn’t to be. It was ok, but I’m only writing in the blog about it and not home. I had a dip called Warm Manchego and Oaxaca Cheese Dip. It had chorizo and peppers on top. It was appetizing but my feet and legs were begging. 

Anyone who has stayed on a Disney property knows the places are huge. The amount of walking is insane. Thus the 22,000 steps I had yesterday. By the time I crawled into bed my feet were unbelievably swollen. My feet haven’t looked like that since I was pregnant! The snoring was inevitable and it seems I did not disappoint. At least the beds are comfy. There is a ceiling fan in the room and rest means more fun for the next day!