Back To Stay

I guess you can tell I took a little time off. I spent last week in Texas, finding specialists for mom, making sure the contractors had not destroyed the house in her absence and well I confess just making sure that the happy, positive, brave voice on the phone was real.

As always, my mother amazes me. I have watched her survive divorce (love my Dad but they get along so much better apart and anyone who was at my wedding can vouch for that...strange, but true), cancer...twice, but West Nile Virus has left her with something called flaccid paralysis. In English that means she can feel her legs, but she cannot move them...her right one a little, her left one nada. So the woman who can power walk 5 miles in 57 minutes is in a wheelchair, and motivated as all get out to get out of it. Her spinal taps (poor thing had to have 2), CT scans and MRI's all show that it is metabolic and will return. The million dollar question is when.

She knows about the blog, but doesn't read it. We were talking and she asked what Grove Gal E and I were showcasing for the holidays and I told her I had taken a break. She promptly gave me some words. Now for those of you not from the South, words are shall we say, not sugar coated and not always what you want to hear. She made me promise no more posts on her until she was back up and at them, so friends I am back. Please keep her in your prayers. I am constantly inspired by her attitude and her refusal to accept anything but 110% from herself, even in the dark days.

We are escaping on Friday night to the beach...just for a night. This may sound strange, but to me, there is something truly calming about walking the beach in the fall bundled in my fleece and feeling the weather change. The one thing I have learned is that life can change in the blink of an eye. Year after year I have said we would take Mini K on a fall beach trip, and with everything that has happened I just decided no more putting things off....the good or the bad. So I am now out of my shell, not going back in, ready to tackle the good and the bad with the best attitude I can.

The long plane rides allowed me to finish some good books (I will share with you this week), plan out my gift giving list for the holidays and plan a few special surprises for my mom.

And for the record, can you believe it is almost November???? We are going to Texas for Thanksgiving and my treat to myself will be a visit to the new Bendels. If any of you Dallas gals will be in town let me know!

Happy Monday friends and thank you SO MUCH for all of your kind emails, and most of all your prayers for my mom. Please keep them coming.