Cherished moments

As I read back over previous blog entries, I realized how lucky I am.  Our life hasn't been easy - and that is probably the understatement of the century.  But along the journey, things happened!  Life happened! And moments came and went that I will cherish forever.  There are so many it was hard to choose which ones to include.  But I have to start somewhere, so here goes.

1.  I was grown with a family when my daddy was taken by ambulance to a Wichita, Kansas hospital for open heart surgery.  Wichita was about 120 miles from their home, and same distance from our home.  Hubby and I went to the hospital for the surgery, and sat with mom for hours and hours while dad had surgery.  Sometime during that tedious long day, my brother and sister arrived from Tacoma, WA and continued the vigil with us.  When daddy was finally in ICU, the nurses said we could go in one at a time.  When it was my sister's turn, she sang for daddy.  Her beautiful voice floated out over that ICU - brought nurses to tears listening to her sing.  She sang his favorite hymn and even after all these years - still gives me goose bumps when I think back to that song.  Daddy said later that he heard her - even tho he wasn't completely awake from the surgery.  Cherished memory.

2.  The next memory I chose was when they put my newborn daughter in my arms, and then 18 months later, put my newborn son in my arms.  The magic of birth, the miracle of life, and the overwhelming feeling of love that just swamped my emotions.  Seeing their daddy with tears of joy in his eyes is something I will never, ever forget.

3.  My cherished moments are all over the place!  My next cherished moment is walking into my Grandma Noe's kitchen, and smelling the fresh bread, just out of the oven.  I'm sure all of us kids were looking at that bread and drooling.  My precious little grandma would just give a belly laugh, and then get out the butter and feed us hot bread right out of the oven.  My mouth is salivating as I type!  :)

4.  The next cherished moment came when I realized that I loved my boyfriend - now husband -  44 years ago.  He was bringing me back from my home to college in Alva, OK.  I remember the exact spot - going up a hill in Kansas with pastures all around us, music in the car, and me sitting on the arm rest with my then boyfriend's arm around me.  It honestly hit me pretty much like you see in the movies - like somebody smacked me on the head and my heart filled to the brim.  I even started giggling and he wanted to know why.  I told him later that evening that I loved him, and we got married 6 months later.

5.  This is a very weird, cherished moment, but special anyway.  My granddaughter, DJ, had a liver transplant when she was 17 1/2 years old.  Her Godmother donated part of her liver so DJ could live.  Her Godmother was in another hospital, and we waited and waited and waited to hear about her surgery.  Doctors couldn't even open DJ up until they knew the new liver was viable and at our hospital.  I will never forget the joy that flooded my heart when the nurse came running out to the waiting room and with great joy said, "The liver is in the building!"  Wow. 

6.  The last moment for this particular entry in my blog was in 1997.  I returned to school at age 42 to get my teaching degree.  It was really hard, learning how to study all over again.  Had one year of college at 18 and got married so I hadn't studied for years!.  Lots of homework, incredible long hours, typing until I felt my fingers were going to bleed, having a foster child come to us in the middle of finals.   Student teaching with a wonderful lady who became my lifelong friend.  When I walked across the stage to get my diploma, I honestly felt like I could float across the stage and yet I felt like I couldn't breathe!  The president of the college grinned and said as he gave me my diploma, "Been a long time coming, huh?"  I laughed outloud and said, "Yes!"  Hearing my family scream and cheer in the audience was amazing.  I did it - I was a college grad, soon to be a teacher. 

I can guarantee there are way more cherished moments.  I expect I will write about more someday. 

Memories and cherished moments are what keep us going.  We look to the future, but the past is what keeps us grounded.  Live in the present, prepare for the future, and always remember the past.  Life is a huge series of precious moments!