I slept right through my birthday last week. I got hammered with a nasty head cold which kept me bedridden for four days. It's okay. We celebrated the week before. The weekend before, my daughter was off from work but told me she had to work on the weekend of my special day. I got to pick a place for dinner that night and chose Javelina Cantina in Sedona. It was wonderful and so was the homemade white cake with coffee we enjoyed back at the house. My immune system is strong so I'm surprised I got hit so hard. I admit, I've been down in the dumps since my closest friend, Maureen, received the severe cancer diagnosis. Our friendship is pure gold. I let myself feel the deep sadness and perhaps, I stayed there too long. Is that why I got sick? Was I depressed and vulnerable and open to attack? I want to say a big "Thank You" to all of you who stopped by and offered prayers for us. It meant so much to me and to Mau...
The predicted snow started to fall in large, fluffy flakes from a gloomy dark gray sky. It was late morning and the pines and crusty, dry ground soaked up the moisture. This winter scene contrasted our usual bright Arizona sunny skies. We, and the earth, crave moisture. It's been so dry without rain for over 150 days. In my kitchen, my crock pot alerted me with bubbling sounds so I switched my homemade chicken soup to low. Chocolate chip cookie dough waited on the counter for the oven to reach 175 degrees. My cell phone notified me of a new text message and I saw my best friend's name appear at the top of the screen. "Oh, good" I thought. She responded. My bestie lay in a Phoenix hospital awaiting surgery after a slew of tests. I had sent an encouraging text with a Scripture earlier with hopes to deliver peace and quiet rest for her soul. "No surgery tomorrow," she wrote. It's cancer and they're sending me home to ...