Life With Us...

Several weeks ago I had a very confusing time with one I have counted as a dear friend for many years. After a few conversations with them being out of character (from who I have always known them to be), making apologies that I needed to make, and an attempt to try to understand and fix the problem, this person said some very hurtful and untrue things to me. Slanderous to my character. Things that horrified me to consider might be true. I went to the Lord in prayer immediately and within minutes He clarified their words. Over the following week life gave me several opportunities to prove that person right or wrong. My automatic response was to do the opposite of what was accused, and after adjustments to my schedule were done, those words echoed in my mind. A blessing to show me that I wasn't operating as I had been told I was. I was thankful when I recounted the mess to Mom. She assured me that the other person was wrong and I was able to tell her I understood that be...

Ever have a prayer request so heavy on your heart,  then God answers with  "yes! That is exactly what My will is for you"? With something that matters so much to you, but would also mean equally as much to millions of others who didn't get the same thing?  That "yes" answer was ours today. Seven weeks ago my Mom-Lady was scheduled for a Watchman (watch at www.watchman.com,  for more information on what that is). She was told that day, we would have to drop her at the curb outside the hospital entrance, and come back for her the next day.  Though I was excited about the prospect of the benefits of getting the Watchman installed,  I was NOT happy with just dropping her off! So, I began to pray.  I told anyone who would listen that I was praying for a miracle.  I was asking God to open our corner of CA enough for me to be able to go in with her as I have the previous 3-4 times: in with her to pre-op, recovery,  and staying with her in her room u...

When I wake in the morning, it will be Thanksgiving Day. This year has been crazy unprecedented in so many ways, but in that chaos, I have so much to be thankful for (details of which I am saving for my Christmas letter ☺). As with the last four years, I have have seen the hand of God orchestrating my every step. It is so cool to see Him active in my world, providing, protecting, and preparing us for the things we cannot yet see. Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season (at least in our family), and this year I am so thankful for the family God has placed me into. Not only because I finally have a place I feel like I belong, I fit, but because of the mutual support and encouragement we are to each other.  I was thinking about my life yesterday. Where it's gone, what I've done, and how it has gone in many circles. Today I have a job that, most days feels more like ministry than work, I have the ability to visit the parents almost every day (most days twice, if only ...

Every year around Easter I remember that my grandpa Hank died on Easter Sunday. My grandmother, who never married him, but allowed him to be a big part of our lives, declared," Leave it to Hank to do something so dramatic as to die on Easter!" I never have decided if that was her way of faulting him for the timing, or if she really saw an irony in his dying on the day we celebrate the resurrection.  Doesn't really matter. This year I remembered again, but couldn't remember the actual date, because Easter is different every year.  I don't know why it mattered, and I guess it didn't a whole lot, because I have a place to look, and didn't. LoL. Until tonight.  While making banana bread, I noticed a memorial magnet my mother made and sent to me after he died. It has a pictue of me and him (he was one of my favorites... I had a surplus of grandparents, so blessed). I took a moment and straightened it. It is stuck to our washer/dryer, and gets titled occasionall...

Dottie George Prof. Ryterband English 3A 26 November 2019 Mentoring I believe mentoring is very important. Children don’t learn to be adults simply by being given a bunch of rules to follow. They learn by choosing to follow the leading of adults they love and respect. Mentoring can be formal or informal. There are programs like Big Brother Big Sister of America that pair kids with mentors. These programs are great and can make a difference in the lives of children, but sometimes the child can feel more like a project, like the adult mentor is trying to fix them. I believe informal mentorship is far better, perhaps because I greatly benefitted from it myself. As a high-risk teen from an abusive and neglectful home, I was fortunate to encounter several people who took me under their wings and showed me my life could be different. The four that made the biggest impact are those I call Grandma Lady, Grandpa Man, The Mom-Type-Person (or Mom), and Dad. Of these four Grandma Lady reached out ...

Dottie George Prof. Ryterband English 3A 13 November 2019 Aging in Place In America, as we age, we sometimes joke about being kind to our children because they are going to select our nursing home. I’m not sure where the idea that putting our parents in someone else’s care is the best way to care for them came from, but it’s not the best idea.  “According to AARP, more than 90% of senior citizens want to remain living in their homes as long as possible” (Home Matters: Aging in Place Housing Survey par 1). That alone should motivate us to help them make it happen.  “Aging in place means a person making a conscious decision to stay in the inhabitation of their choice for as long as they can with the comforts that are important to them” (par 1). It has been my observation that seniors who are able to age in place do better, living longer, healthier, more productive lives. Some people argue aging in place prevents seniors from getting as good care as they would get in a nursing ho...