November 5, 2016

Greetings My Friend, My niece Alicia called me this morning, it is the first time in several months I have heard from her and it is always a joy to talk with her. She is married, has a family, works full time and is going to school so time for her is limited. We keep up with each other in between phone visits on Facebook or Instagram, we like different statues and it is a way to touch in between phone visits. When I found out I had Parkinson's Disease I texted her and we chatted for a bit that way. She was at work and does phone calls for her job which means we talked between the calls. Today I got to say it to someone who loves and I was surprised how easy it was to say. I also moved off of the need to talk about it rather quickly which surprised me. In my older years I love being checked up on from time to time. I need to know that my concerns are real and my life is important to someone. Alicia has been able to put up with moments of rambling when I hurt and rejoices over my accomplishments. Alicia also calls her mother more often than me and this too makes me happy, she understands the need her mother has to hear from her. Many young people do not seem to understand this need but see the older person as a drag on their time and energy. That is sad too. I admit that when I go out and come home most days I go over to the phone to and check caller ID for a potential phone call from my children, which is rare to never anymore. My heart grieves for a moment and then I get busy with loving the fur family Junior and I have adopted. I find myself thanking God for the family He has started placing in our lives. We have Debbie and Boogie, our church family whom we love to pieces and our fur family and one day I discovered that life is rather enjoyable. The move from Michigan and the 2nd move from Haysi has upset my balance in life quite a bit and now that our home is more of a home these days that unbalanced feeling is leaving. Junior and I have been happy with the cooler weather so we can take Daisy and Brendy along for our errands. The girls give me company while Junior runs into some of the stores without me and we feel like we can spoil our girls with little treats. When we get home we have a brood of fur children waiting for us to be loved on. Roscoe our rescue cat is slowly working his way out of the spare bedroom to mingle more with Junior and I. We seem to have made our little family which gives us comfort, someone to care about and for and it even helps us with our PTSD. Since we have been in VA I find the setting, the fur family keeps us calmer and quieter these days. I see that God has had us move here for many awesome reasons even if getting settled seems to have taken forever. My lesson is that God has invited me into the Family of God and if my earthly family is distant I now know that my heavenly family is always near. Ruth sent me a reassuring message when I missed church a few weeks ago and it meant so much. My on line family encouraged me as I faced the diagnosis of PD and a trip to the ER had people praying for me. God has taught Junior and I to reach out to others more often in acts of service and in the process He has shown us His faithful love. With each lesson learned I find myself growing and loving even in the hurts of life. God is all I truly need. May God bless you and keep you, make His face shine on you. Love Janet