One of those days

I always look forward to General Conference knowing exactly what to expect.  I'm going to have "one of those days."  A good "one of those days."   Our prophets speak and it is as if the Heavens are being opened up to me.  I feel filled with hope and resolve and just...filled.  You know the feeling.  It is wonderful and I can always count on it.  This weekend was no different.  Ryan had to be at the shop on Saturday but the kids and I were able to watch from home on our computer.  As I logged off after the second session of the afternoon, I felt prepared for anything  :)  ....aaaaaand..... not more than an hour later I got a call that was just plain awful.  A customer had found Ryan in our back stock room collapsed to the floor, soaking in sweat, hardly able to breath or speak.  Not a fun phone call to get.   My mind goes wild in scenarios like these.  Well, honestly, this is the first of a scenario quite like this.   Becoming a widowed mother of two and a world with no Ryan...I wasn't sure my one ear tuned to the computer and the other to my children conference experience was enough to prepare me for my new future.  Anyhow...  Our patron was about to call an ambulance when one of our employees arrived for his shift.  He took Ryan to the Emergency Room and I was able to meet him there once our kids were taken care of.  We spent the evening in the hospital as they did a bunch of tests to diagnose what was up.  Anyway...he'll be fine.  Surgery is quite likely but we're praying for other alternatives.  There are more tests till we know for sure.  He's home now, already going stir crazy which means he's back to his old self.  The guy can't sit still for ten minutes!  Faith and character...those words from Saturday have been bouncing around in my brain all weekend.  I have a feeling I'll need their strength a bit more as we figure out how to adjust a few things with this new challenge. 

Anyway...interesting day.  And holy cow, talk about interesting people we got to meet.  Well, not really meet but we can say we now know them because those curtains between beds in the ER are real, real thin.  Our first neighbor was a younger guy, probably Ryan's age, suffering from appendix problems.  He cussed a lot.  The nurses asked him to stop...a lot.  He asked a nurse to borrow a phone so he could call home.  More cussing.  Not a single happy word was exchanged.  So, so sad.  When the doc came in to check on him, the patient said he had never in his life felt so much pain.  This guy had been shot and stabbed in his younger years (real thin curtains!) so interesting to note.  If you can handle a problem appendix, a shot wound...that's cake!  I hope I'm not violating any confidentiality code by revealing some of this stuff, but really, it was an exciting day.

Our next neighbor (neighbor one was wheeled off to an operating room),  was a 96 year old woman brought in by an ambulance.  She had fallen off a curb in her church parking lot and fell and hit her head.  She was so, so there, though.  Such a contrast between her and our previous neighbor.  She had family there to laugh and pray with her through her pain.  I sat there silently listening, just so grateful for all that I know and have.

When we got home, we were welcomed by this.   Oh, to be loved!  :)  In these kids defense, they didn't know we had just spent the evening at the hospital.  But...just a few things to note even though none of these guys read this blog thing.  Um, 2-ply toilet paper, nice stuff.  And we appreciate the couple of nearly full rolls that were left dangling from our tree.  It was really thoughtful as we're going to be looking at some hefty medical bills and we can use all the help we can get!  :)   Next time, I'd like to put an order in for some cookies on the doorstep, at least!  Oatmeal chocolate chip.  Thanks much.  :)