Day 12
Good evening fellow prayer warriors,
Catie, Christine and I are all in Memphis, and today was a good day. Like most days, how good or bad it was depended upon when you asked the question. At 6pm when Catie had been crying for ½ hour, the day seemed bleak and horrible. At 11am as she was devouring pumpkin pie and honey baked ham, it seemed promising, at 3pm as she was sitting watching visions of sugar plum fairies dancing on the stage of the famous Orpheum Theatre on Beale Street, the day was magical. We all experience that. Every day has its ups and downs, and if anyone stopped us and asked us what kind of day we were having, the answer would vary throughout the 24 hours. So when I asked Catie whether she had a good day or a bad day after we said prayers and tucked her into bed, she replied that it had been a good day. With the benefit of all of the information and all of the experiences completed, bedtime allows us the perspective to see the whole picture, not just the momentary snapshots. The big picture for today….it was a good day.
Some of the snapshots:
I arrived at midnight with every empty suitcase we own and Ellen picked me up at the airport and drove me to Target House. Thank you Ellen. Before that, I had dropped M.E. and Molly off at Mom-Mom and Da’s house and had successfully negotiated Newark Airport with aforementioned luggage in tow. Mia was successfully delivered back to Mechanicsburg by Aunt KC, and Maggie and Max had spent the night at the Connolly’s house. Thank you everyone for stepping up yet again. Once I was settled and Christine and I were in bed, the cell phone rang (at 2am), and my darling Catie asked if her pumpkin pie was ready. Since she does not particularly like the pie crust, (how un-American is that?) Christine makes just pumpkin pie filling for her. She got up, walked with her walker to the couch in the living room and sat down and ate about 700 calories worth of pie filling at 2am. After the three of us were back and nestled in our beds, we all drifted off to sleep. By 11, Catie was back up and polished off the other half of the pie with 2 big slices of ham. We then got all gussied up and went to the ballet. The Nutcracker at the Orpheum was terrific, and the excitement of the performance was not diminished by the 7 trips to the ladies room. I had the opportunity today to watch Catie walk with her walker, and if you can imagine an inebriated 90 year old, you have a pretty good idea of how it looks. Twice she has attempted to negotiate a quick 90 degree turn and gotten hung up. The second time I was able to catch her as she has the amazingly uncanny ability to fall in slow motion. The first time, she landed on the couch. She also does dips on her walker as her arms have not been impacted at all to this point by the tumor. Her health as evidenced by the strength in her arms is excellent.
The tears at 6pm were most likely the result of Catie thinking ahead. Because of the dependence she has upon Christine for her care, the last vestiges of her independence are precious. When those are threatened, or she thinks ahead to a time when they will be surrendered, there is a profound sadness that accompanies the thought. She is still a trooper though, and in Catie fashion, she shook it off, enjoyed a wonderful dinner and was in the Kroger’s supermarket at 9pm buying giftcards and Christmas wrap so that she could continue playing St. Nicholas in Memphis before she leaves for home. As we were leaving Krogers, we were stopped at the door by Charles, an associate at the store who Christine had met and in typical Christine (or Catie) fashion, had become fast friends with. By 9:30, still at the exit door, we were all praying together as Charles had felt moved by the Holy Spirit to intercede with God and open up Jesus’ healing power to make Catie well again. Thank you Charles. And thank you Catie and Christine for whatever it is about the two of you that attracts these little happenings.
We ended the day praying the bible verses that Charles recommended, asking St. Jude to continue to intercede on Catie’s behalf, and by asking Father, Son, and Spirit to bless us and heal us and to give us the strength and grace to live His will. Tonight’s pumpkin pie has just come out of the oven, and the cell phone is next to me on the nightstand as I await the call. And so it goes, another day with Catie. I pray that there are thousands more to come, that Charles’ prayers, your prayers, Catie’s prayers are answered with her miracle cure. But I will not dishonor nor diminish the gift that was today. Today is what God promises to bless. What He asks in return is our choice to make the most of it. Thank you God for today. I was able to hold my precious Catie in my arms, and I fell asleep and awoke in the arms of my beautiful bride. Today was a good day.
Love and God bless you,
Christine, Kevin, Maggie, Max, Catie, Mia, Molly, and M.E.
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