One Foot In Front of the Other

Over 40 years ago, I attended my friends' wedding in a field outside of town.  My friends had been sweethearts for a several years.  Ray and Charlene were older than me, but not by much, and I was 16 at the time.  As Charlene walked down the aisle, the song "On Christ the Solid Rock" was sung.  I thought it was strange at the time, and that the song added a sadness to the proceedings.  Though I never asked them, I assumed I knew why they had chosen this song.  Ray had gone blind - complications from diabetes - and he had been disabled by a stroke.  At the time, I worried for their future.  Charlene had promised to marry Ray, and she wouldn't abandon him now that he was ill. They were in their late teens and their lives were already complicated; but they were happy together, and weathered the storms of ill health until Ray's death a few years later. Yesterday morning, I woke up with that song running through my head, and I latched onto the second...

Mother's Day is a "made up" holiday.  It was created at the urging of a leader of the early, early women's movement and signed into permanent holiday status by President Woodrow Wilson.  Since then, of course, it has become a cash cow for card makers, florists, and restaurants. Still, on this Mother's Day, I was so excited to see my boy.  Not that this day was different than others, but that the day was a reminder to me of how blessed I am to be a mom to Lacy.  Lacy was happy to see us, and we were able to take a wonderful picture. As I leaned in for the photo, I could feel Lacy's body moving non-stop.  His shoulders were constantly in motion.   Here comes the chorea  I was thinking to myself as we smiled.  Lacy hasn't had constant chorea up to now, but leaning in I felt it.  Still, it was a happy day.  Five minutes after this photo was taken, Lacy was threatening to send his dad to jail.  We needed to leave.   In ...