Trippin With Dad

I don't remember bible verses being quoted much in my home.  In fact, my parents weren't regular church goers when I was young.  What I do remember was my aunt Charlotte quoting one particular scripture EVERY time she broke bread with us (which wasn't too often).  It was Proverbs 3:5-6.  As a child I absorbed her words; maybe it was because of the reverence with which she spoke them.  But I hid those words deep in my heart.  And I learned to trust Holy Spirit because of them.  There have been dozens of instances where Holy Spirit, in His whisper voice said, 'do this or, don't do that' and each and every time I have been saved from something detrimental.  Like when we hesitated in booking an overseas trip only to live through the death of my brother, a niece and a nephew the same month we would have been away. Today was no exception.  Dad wasn't feeling his best but he powered through as he always does.  We discussed what to do about his...

So. How did we Three Amigos get to where we are now telling our tales?  I believe there are no coincidences in this life we lead.  We are all tasked and then equipped for those tasks by God to do what only we can do.  We still have a choice as to whether or not we complete the tasks assigned but, make no mistake, we HAVE an assignment. It's funny because I've known most of my life that my assignment would be to take care of my Mom and Dad in their old age.  Shoot, by my Mom's calculations she was already old when she had me at 37. Lol.  Around age 10 I knew pretty much how things would play out.  Looking back on circumstances now I think most of my decisions as I grew up were made with them in mind.  My parents invested heavily in me and I, in turn invested in them.  It's the kind of decision many families make when they know they only have each other for insurance down the road. Growing up, my parents loved to travel.  As the story goes, my...

Three teeth.  That's it.  Just three teeth.  He's lived with these three teeth for what? 85 or so years?  No one wants to part with their O.D's (Old Dentals). But we had two days to decide what would be best in the long run for Dad's health and well being.  After consulting with the dentist and the oral surgeon on Monday, we decided to go for extraction of those three offending teeth.  I hated to have to make that call but, all of the evidence pointed to the fact that those three teeth were causing more trouble than they were worth. Any time my Pop Pop, who is tougher than pretty much anyone else I know, started questioning whether or not those three teeth should be allowed to complete the life journey with him then I knew it was time to put them on the chopping block.  Still, pulling the plug on teeth almost a century old made us pause.  But when you pray about something tough and you let God have it, you can sleep knowing that He will cover it...

10pm Dad:  "hey!  Hey!!  HEY!!! Syl:  What Dad?  Who are you yelling at? *a little exasperated* Dad: That man over there! Syl: Well, what does he want? (I used to say he wasn't there but, just because I don't see him...) Dad:  He wants to take me with him. Syl: Well, is he a nice man or a mean man? Dad: He's real nice. Syl: Do you want to go with him? Dad: Yes Dad: I don't got nowhere else to go! Syl: You can stay here with us if you want to. Dad: *something kinda garbled* Syl: Did he say where he was taking you? Dad: *long pause*. No he didn't Syl: Well. I don't mind you going if you want to go but maybe you'd better find out where he's gonna take you. Dad: You're right Syl:  Once he tells you then you tell me OK? Dad: OK. Syl: Night Dad Dad: Night honey

Stone crab mania Looks like our ship was stranded on the Cay. My Disney booty Disney Princesses

All good things must eventually...transition into other good things.  As sad as I was to end the Disney cruise, I was equally happy to be reunited with my better half.  But between disembarking and reuniting there was more fun and favor to be had.  The Lord tapped me on my shoulder around 0530 to give me plenty of time to get Dad up and secure our final breakfast.  Sure, we had the option to head down to the dining room for a final off the menu meal with our wait staff but I opted for breakfast in our suite on our verandah.  It's not often I get to eat canned corned beef hash after all and what a salty treat that was! We exited our room at about 0745, said our final goodbyes to Lilis our hostess and headed down to the atrium.  Why hadn't I looked up all the other days I passed by the atrium?  What a beautiful piece of Dale Chihuly style red glass on the ceiling!  I've said it before but, the attention to detail on the Disney Wonder was just specta...