Good morning…
After climbing in the back seat and exchanging happy hellos at the airport, the first thing I noticed was my mom’s cough. Pesky and persistent, her cough was concerning, still our natural conversation took on its own life. We enjoyed a yummy Olive Garden take-out dinner and a relaxing evening together, but my mom’s cough was consistently present. Periodically throughout the night, from the comfort of my guest room bed, I heard my mom coughing, coughing, coughing.
We had a fun Valentine’s Day with my siblings, our Norwegian exchange student from fifty years ago, and her young adult son. (I highlighted our great day in our blog post entitled My Parents’ Attitude.) We checked my mom’s temperature in the morning (98.2) and gave her some cough medicine. Then we went on with our day, enjoying lunch out in my hometown of Berea, Ohio, and eventually happening upon the happy hour Valentine’s Day party at their senior living community.
At dusk, I bundled up and took a walk around the beautiful grounds. Beneath the waning moon a few days past full, I breathed in the crisp air and felt so very grateful for this special nest of community God has built for my parents.
I returned to their villa, and, relaxing together, we watched Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, Shark Tank, and the local news. My mom’s coughing continued, and her energy level dropped as she melted into her Lazy-Boy rocker. Before bed, we decided to take my mom’s temperature again. This time the thermometer read 102. We gave her Tylenol and more cough medicine before tucking her into bed.
We knew a trip to the nearby Urgent Care might become a part of our next morning.
We did not know what would happen instead.
You don’t know where the wind will blow, and you don’t know how a baby grows inside the mother. In the same way, you don’t know what God is doing, or how he created everything (Ecclesiastes 11:5, NCV).
…Sue…
