Busy Week with a Sweet Ending

This week has had my brain and eyes hurting.  I was on my own at the church office and the things that I thought I knew how to do became a mystery.   I stumbled through three long days and with the help of the last secretary, I think I accomplished something.

Today, I left my admin hat at home and put my old lady bonnet on…we were off on fall bus tour with the 50 Plus.  We met at the church and waited for the bus to arrive.  I had checked everyone off my list and still we waited.  Ron called and they were on their way and so..you guessed it…we waited.  Finally, the bus arrived and we slowly climbed in and were on our way.  It’s been a while since I’ve been on a school bus.  

They are not the most comfortable ride.  In fact, the ride was so bumpy that my watch gave me steps.  The bus driver used her GPS to get there.  It was an interesting road….but perhaps we should have read their post from their website.

We arrived and made our way into the beautiful log building.  

We sat down and took up two long tables.  The service was amazing.  Coffee was placed in front of us and then they took our orders.  

A fluffy pancake and a maple sausage was my choice with a side of maple beans….topped with maple syrup.  Very tasty!  Old friends from Napanee, that are now living in Perth, met us there.  

The visiting around the table was good and at the conclusion we all strolled out ready to check out the museums or walk the trails.  I asked the bus driver how much time we had and she said we had to go.  That was not the plan.  We thought it was going to be more of an open end kind of day.  A few quickly checked out the museum and then we climbed back on to the bus.  We took a bit of a different way home to avoid the narrow back road this time.

I think everyone enjoyed their day even though the stop was quicker than we had planned.

Enjoy the sweet moments!

Tick Bite

Well, we knew that sooner or later it would happen to one of us and why not to me?  I felt a pain under my watch and thought it was scratching me.  I unclasped it and saw a black mark.  I put on my glasses to take a closer look. It was then that I realized a very ugly little bug was trying to burrow itself under my skin.  You would be very proud to know that I did not over react.  I grabbed some tweezers and tried to pull this nasty little creature out.  When I couldn’t do it, I called Ron.  He came and I explained my situation.  He took the tweezers and on his second try had the horrible thing tightly in his grasp and away from me.  He disposed of it and then we began the googling to find out what to do next.  After a shower, we were off to church.  I went to the pharmacy and was told that I should go to Emerge.  This was not what I wanted to hear.  I was triaged rather quickly and told that they would fast track me to see a doctor.  I sat on the other side of the curtain from Triage and listened.

People came in for bad backs, sore knees, fear of blood clots and coughs.  Some had had their symptoms for months and others for just hours.  The questions were the same… 

• “what brings you in?”  
• “Do you have any allergies?”  
• “What medications are you on?”

Next the nurse would do their blood pressure and oxygen levels.  There would be some small talk and then they were sent to the next desk to register and WAIT.

The curtain would open and close, accepting a new patient and then sending them to the office.  I sat patiently hearing the sounds of the hospital…coughs, moans and beeps.  I tried not to listen too closely but sitting in the middle of emergency, it’s hard not to hear it all.

The best conversation came from a little old lady.  The heart specialist had been called in.  She asked her patient “Do you smoke?”  “Do you drink?”

The lady responded, “I’ve never smoked or drank and look what good it did me?  I’m here.”  The doctor laughed and said, “what about hard drugs?”  She then explained that as we get older our bodies just start to fail.

The most shocking part of the day was when I looked down at my wrist band.  How could my identification say “62 years?”

The doctor finally came and said that I didn’t need any medication even though she couldn’t guarantee that this little creature wasn’t carrying the lime disease.  I went back to the pharmacist who was surprised with that result.  She prescribed me a double dose of something and sent a message to my doctor.  She felt it was better to be safe instead of waiting for the possibility of getting sick and then go through the whole thing again.

I have discovered that the creatures that I don’t like are in abundance in Ontario…snakes, spiders and ticks.  In Alberta, all we had to worry about were bears and cougars!

Scary and Thankful

To round out my birthday week, Ron and I went on the motorcycle to Algonquin Park on Friday.  The forecast looked good but the skies were pretty cloudy.  Along the way the leaves were looking pretty nice and the temperature was good for an end of September ride.  

We arrived at the park and went to the visitor Center.  There was a new hike that we had never done and so off we went.  They had built a wooden highway through the woods with even one way signs.  

We climbed the stairs up the hill.  It was a pretty good workout for me.  My mountain climbing days have been in the history awhile.

The path was pretty with the fallen leaves making a beautiful carpet.  

When we got about half way…in the middle of the woods on a hill looking over a lake, my phone rang.

It was the school, Sarah wasn’t feeling well and they needed me to come and get her.  I was surprised that we had service and I explained that I was about three hours away.  I called a few people and it went to voicemail.  I then pressed in the number for Pam.  She dropped everything at the school and headed down to pick Sarah up.  I received another call from the school, Sarah was shaking, she had an elevated heart rate had had passed out. The response team felt an ambulance should be called.  My heart was racing now.  We stumbled through the rest of the hike and back to the motorcycle.  

We agreed that we would be careful going home because getting there safe was better than trying to get home fast.  She was in good hands with Pam.  I received texts along the way.   She was doing better and was even hungry.  We drove through heavy rain and then the skies cleared.  

Sitting on the back of the bike, I prayed for safety for us as we travelled and prayed that our girl would be okay.  I checked often to see how many more kilometres and appreciated getting updates of how things were going at the hospital.  We arrived home, changed out of wet clothes and jumped in the car to head to the hospital.  Pam came out and told us that she had never seen anyone shake so bad.  Sarah couldn’t remember some of the things that had happened.  I went in to sit with Sarah and slowly her colour started to return.  They had already done a couple ECGs and they were okay.  They did bloodwork and it seemed normal.  After about 6 hours at the hospital, they released her with instructions not to drive until her doctor’s appointment next week.  It was pretty scary.  Today, she slept a good portion of the day but was feeling better.  

We are thankful she is doing better and thankful for good friends that drop everything to help.

Happy Birthday to me!

The older you get the faster time flies.  My birthday slipped up on me.  I have been a little busier than usual with taking on the secretarial position at the church.  The last couple of weeks have included a few days of training.  This week was the administrative assistant’s last and so I spent three full days taking notes, trying things and laying awake at night wondering why I volunteered to help. So yesterday I found myself, on my birthday, trying to cram as much as I could into my brain.  

In the morning, my mom showed up at the church carrying a beautiful card and a cake to share with the staff.  

Later Chelsea, went out and brought me back a London Fog.  

The pastor then gave me a pot of mums from the ones that I will call coworkers for a while.

We had to be at the church until the evening since Sarah was helping with the kids’ program.  It was a bit of a different birthday for me but good.

The one thing that I missed the most was celebrating with Ron.  So we made today for that.  We drove to the Sheffield Conservation Area and enjoyed the view from the parking lot.

We followed the path through the woods, across rocks and around lakes.  It was a beautiful walk.  At the end of the path, I had my 10,000 steps.

My birthday celebration has been pretty good for this old girl.  People have been nice with their warm wishes in person, phone calls or by social media but the sweetest was from my granddaughter…thank you Sarah!

Celebrations and Memories

Today we were invited to celebrate a church that was 100 hundred years old.  The drive there was beautiful with the trees showing off their fall colours.  We had to stop for a couple of deer crossing in front of us and then a little later a parade of turkeys. We arrived at the church about an hour before the service was to begin so that Ron could do a sound check.  We had pastored in the church from 1991 to 1998 so there were a lot of familiar faces from our congregation and other previous pastors that had been invited.  

Doris and Steve were leading in worship.  They had driven from northern Ontario to be there and we were anxious to see them.  This was Steve’s home church and he and Doris had assisted us for a short time in Sharbot Lake. They are a pretty special couple. 

Other pastors took part in different ways through the service and would share fond memories of their time there.  

The district superintendent preached and shared about the vision of the past continually to the future.  Pictures were taken of all of the pastors at the conclusion of the service.

Doris and I walked over to the community hall together.  We walked past the parsonage that held so many good memories for me.  Behind the house was an empty lot that use to be the Fire Hall.  Ron was a volunteer fireman back in those days.  It was so close that he could be at the hall before the tones on the radio were done sending out an alarm.  We climbed up the hill to the hall and the tables were set up and food was beautifully displayed.  

Oh, how many times we had worked in that hall preparing for events…more good memories.  I walked by the table that was set up with pictures from the past.  Time sure flies but with it memories are cemented in to my mind of good times, happy times…fulfilling times.

Absent from the celebration were the many that have passed since we left Sharbot Lake.  Faithful servants gone on to their reward.  One very important couple was just down the road, house bound due to health and ongoing treatments.  This was a couple that was at the core of the church when we came and had been before and after we moved.  When we left the hall, we just had to go and say hi.  Gilbert sat in his chair with the oxygen attached.  He still had a story to tell.  Nelda, always a goer, sat down to listen.  She has recently had bladder cancer which moved into her lungs and now they have found a mass in her chest area.  Once she finishes the radiation she will have to have the mass removed by breaking her chest bone.  She smiled and said that she felt good.  She is a real inspiration.  Meanwhile, their two daughters were still at the hall where they had been all day setting up, serving and cleaning up from the celebrations.  They have picked up what their faithful parents have been forced to lay down.

It was a good day spending time with special friends from the past.  Sharbot Lake and its people hold a special place in our hearts.  It seems like a lifetime ago but it was definitely a good time!

Tamworth Sabres

The Tamworth Sabres is a new hockey team in our little village and the village showed up!  It was the first night and people seemed excited.  The stands filled up and the game began.

After the first period there was still no score.  When the second finished, it was tied 2-2.

There was some good plays, lots of bangs against the boards, a number of penalties and a little bit of rough housing.

Near the end of the third, the visiting team scored and then finished off with an empty netter. 

The crowd still showed their support for their new team and the players raised their sticks to show their appreciation of the fans.

When we walked out of the arena there were people everywhere.  It was dark and very cool.  I guess hockey time means it’s Fall!

So we are season ticket holders for our home team…Go Sabres Go!

Full Days

I am sitting this morning sipping on my coffee listening to worship music.  Sarah went on the bus this morning and Ron left on the motorcycle for a meeting.  Outside my window the changing colours of the leaves paint a perfect picture. I’m tired this morning but it’s a good tiredness coming from an active week.  Having a slower start to the day is refreshing.  

Monday was a day of training at the church office.  When I finished there I changed my admin hat to my 50 plus one.  The tables were all set up for our Tuesday lunch but they needed the final touches….decorating.  That’s the fun stuff.  The ladies of the church had been sorting the supply cupboards and had found tablecloths that were perfect for my fall theme.  I had brought two bins of decorations from home and was able to be satisfied with the way the room looked.  After almost two hours of placing leaves, pumpkins, baskets and other autumn items around the room, I felt ready for the next day.  Okay, maybe not totally…when I got home I made six dozen cupcakes for our luncheon.

Tuesday, we dropped Sarah off at the school and went straight to the church.  Ron worked on preparing for the sermon while my team of kitchen helpers and I did prepping for the lunch.  Ron spoke and did really well.  I think he still has it…that preacher thing!  It was nice to have 50 plus after our 50 plus meeting!  It was especially nice that our friends from Tweed, Janie and Clare came.

The lunch was really nice…build your own sandwiches, banana punch, warm apple cider and chocolate, carrot or lemon cupcakes for dessert.  

When the meal was over and the kitchen was clean, our day was not done.  Sarah had to stay for a basketball game and so Ron and I put on walking clothes and walked ALL over Napanee….just over 20,000 steps for the day.  

There was a prayer meeting in the evening and we decided to stay so we made ourselves some sandwiches from the leftover lunch items.  I picked a book from the church library, made a tea and waited for 6:45 pm to arrive.  The prayer meeting was good and thankfully when we closed our eyes to pray I didn’t fall asleep.  Just after 8:00, we were on our way home and in bed by 9:00.

I am sitting finishing my coffee, typing away and my relaxing is almost done.  I need to soon get going and be off to the church for another day of training.  I’m thinking an extra coffee will get me through.

Who knew that retirement would take us back into pastoring the 50 plus group and me into an office?  I guess retirement is doing the things you enjoy and volunteering so that you can say not today.

I hope your day is full!