Blessings:, Miracles, and Enough

I wish you enough What IS enough? I think Enough is something that is perceived, and not achieved. What do I mean?  Some days, I am not even sure, as we struggle some days, and others are gone before we know it. I believe that each day is an opportunity to realize, we have more than enough, and we can be ensuring someone else's enough.

My husband and I wake up each day, grateful to be alive, to greet each other with a kiss and a Good Morning! We have food in the house. Our bank account is not overdrawn, and funds come via his pay check every 2 weeks, and my SSD comes every month. All of our bills are paid each month.  We have a decent small home with all of our what we " perceive" we need, and we have a few too many clothes in our closets. Enough.

Between us we have 7 grown children and 21 grandchildren. We know where they all are, stay in contact for the most part, and see some of them often. Enough. ( although, I love dem babies, so if more come along, that too will be enough.) We have a new dog, our Daffodil, who keeps me company when I am home alone, sometimes

Both of us believe in God, our higher power and we count on trusting in his will. This is a grand design. Oh, yes, some days when I know I am being sorely tested, I look up and ask" Lord, if this is a test, can you at least give me a sign that I am passing?"  I never hear his reply, though I listen closely, yet I get my answer. I know I am.

Yet, I also know that when I arrive at those Pearly Gates, there will be either a note on the gate, or in St Peter's hand, addressed to me stating: " Valerie, my daughter, you may enter, but, come see me in my office immediately, we need to talk!" ( Gulp) ( could be he just wants my advice on some of the ideas I have had all these years... ideas like: it should snow only on grass and trees, leaving the sidewalks and roads safe for travelers. It should rain only at night, after 3 am and before 5 am, when the drunks are already home, and again, making driving safe during the day. This also would help with the water having time to soak our plants, absorb into the ground when the sun is not out to evaporate it. Rain should also be spread around equally,  so there would be no droughts or floods. Just sayin.. just suggestions, Lord.)

I believe in following the Ten Commandments. I do not care how you worship God, or how you feel about Heaven and Hell. I think of it like this.. if we as a people, follow the basic Ten Commandments, which are very simple laws to live by.. let me refresh your memory, or teach them to you if you really are not familiar with them:

Oops! Wait a minute, cannot read that. Wait for it!!

Ahhhhh, that is better, right? OK, simple rules for live, and ;achieving happiness, and having ENOUGH.

If WE would all follow this simple guideline, and find our Higher Power, however we see him, there is a reward!!! If there is a Heaven, we are IN BABY! Oh yeah! ( I would never survive Hell. I am from NY, have lived in FL for over 20 yrs, have been in menopause since I was 44, and go from air conditioned home, to air conditioned car, to the air conditioned building. YEP. I have told people for years" This is my personal sauna, and you are NOT invited" when having a hot flash, oh, no , no Hell for me , tyvm.)

Children get this:

 Now let us assume, you just can't wrap your head around God, or the higher power. OK, I get it, well not so much, but, OK... if you live your life around 2-10 of the commands, then you have lived a life worth living,  did not cause anyone any harm, lived with dignity and respect, treated your family well, and hopefully helped make other people's lives better. WOW! How cool would that be?

It's really simple.

Simple.. and what a concept. No murders, no thievery, no adulterers.. no wars... wow wow wow.

We could all have enough.

Today my Meals on Wheels group made 58! meals, including the Head Cook of the Day's choice of BBQ Chicken thighs, Baked Beans, Macaroni Salad, and Cole Slaw with Pineapple tidbits added in, a dinner roll, and the dessert bag. The recipes I posted yesterday on Its All About Food, included the 2 salad recipes plus my Potato Salad. can we say yum? We are grateful and thank OUR higher power, that we are able to do this for our community.  Get involved with a ministry like this in your neighborhood, this service is good for your soul, as well as the souls of people in need.

We don't have a lot of money, we do have enough. We still find ways to help donate to charities. I do online surveys, that earn points which at some point can be redeemed for cash. When I have a little stash, I choose a charity and donate that money. I spend time, but, no cash of my own. My Coke Rewards points from the soda addiction? St Jude's Children's gets that donation.

Did you know, my fellow Americans, that while most of us have enough, or MORE than enough,

16 million kids in the United States struggle with hunger.

That is 1 in 5 kids in America doesn't get the food they need every day. This takes a terrible toll on their health and development, and threatens their futures in profound ways. It also drags down our nation's economy by perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

Whoa!  In the USA?  How can this be? We are sending money all over the world to help impoverished people and help end poverty, and we have 16 MILLION children who do not get enough food? How do we sleep at night? Did you also know that through an organization called  nokidhungry.org/
Every dollar donated to No Kid Hungry can help feed a child 10 meals? 

Seriously? I want to let that sink in for a moment. Every Dollar Donated No Kid Hungry can help feed a child 10 meals!!" Guess where my survey funds go, yes.. I want the children in MY country to have ENOUGH, don't you? 

How about that miracle I promised? How about a 2 for 1? 

34 years ago, I was not feeling very well, and I made a trip to our family physician. My sons were about 10 and 9 at the time. On our way to the Dr's office, we stopped buy Burger King and had a little dinner, and the boys got a Frisbee from the King, LOL.  I left my husband in the car with the boys, and went in for my physical. While in the office, we all heard a loud BOOM!!!! that came from the front of the office near the street. It sounded like an explosion. We all ran to the window first, and what we saw brought horror  and shock to myself. My vehicle was no longer on the road , parked in the front of the office, it was now facing a different direction, and on the lawn. 

We ran outside, and I nearly passed out as I saw the back end of my car was pushed into the front seat of the car. I could only think, that my two sons were dead, as they could not have survived that, and I did not see Al, so, he must be dead too. I was falling to the ground, when I felt arms holding me up, and I heard Al's voice, saying: "It's OK ! It's OK! We were not in the car, we got out to play Frisbee! We are OK!", and then I see him and my beautiful baby boys and the relief and joy and tears flood over.I fall to my knees in gratitude, to God and Burger King. After assuring myself that they were unharmed, I still need to go see the Dr. I can find out what happened to the car later.

Dr. S. has the nurse draw blood, and then checks my Blood Pressure. He shakes his head, and tells me it is way too high. Ya think??? He comes back a few minutes later, to announce that I am pregnant, and between that and my high blood pressure, explains why I have not been feeling well. Just as I am absorbing this information, he goes on to explain, that while I am still young (28), he would suggest I should have an abortion, since that blood pressure may cause me to probably die having a baby. 

After sitting in silence for a few moments, I ask him, was my blood pressure high before today? " No." Did he not think that the shock I had just been through could have caused this spike in blood pressure? " Well, yes, it could". Did he think that we should " wait and see" while my husband and I discuss our options, and also recheck my blood pressure at another time:? " Yes, of course."  

Turns out, that a woman driving on the street, passed out at the wheel, drunk, and hit the gas pedal, slamming hard and fast into our car, causing the vehicle to crush and get pushed onto the lawn that day.

Al and I discussed the pregnancy, and we both knew we would be having a baby. As he put it, " The odds of THAT baby being created, that specific baby, are incredibly high. This baby deserves to be born." Yes, we would have this baby, unless there was a direct threat to my life. Turns out there wasn't, my BP was good for the duration. The pregnancy was different from my others in many ways, but, my health was not an issue.

I had hyperemesis gravida ( excessive vomiting) for the entire pregnancy. People would compliment me about how good my complexion was, and had good color in my face. Well, yeah, if you spent most of the day bent over the toilet... right? When I went for my sonogram, I noticed that " the " baby, was moving very fast, all over the place. I asked the tech, is that NORMAL? Yes, I was told, at this stage they move very fast, and I am having trouble keeping up with the fetus, one minute its here, the next, over there! Hmmm, OK.

Worrying about why this pregnancy was so different from the others. I never saw that WAVE on my belly, when I laid down, never noticed a hand or a foot sticking out into my flesh. I felt a " pulse like" thumping in my lower pelvis area, each night. I began to worry that I was giving birth to a huge baby head.. no arms, no legs, just a head.

We had 2 boys, Brian and Michael,  both born at over 10 pounds each. I grew HUGE with this pregnancy as well, I could not get up from the floor without help doing the limbering exercise I did to prepare for childbirth. When the OB told me  I was having a really big baby, I was not surprised, just hoping there would be a whole baby, a health baby, and I hoped for a girl, but, a healthy baby. We picked out a boys name, and I was still stuck for a girl's name .

In the 8th month, I sneezed, and that sneeze brought on hemorrhaging . At first, I thought I either peed or my water broke. No, I was bleeding and bleeding hard. I put one of the newborn diapers between my legs, and changed it again , called the OB and was told get to the hospital fast. I called Al, and not wanting to scare him, I told him my water broke. He came home, smiling at me and said, it's time? Then I confessed about the true situation. Smile gone, he rushed me to the hospital, where they examined me, and we were told there was too much blood to see what is going on, and did an Ultrasound. They saw nothing critical in that sonogram, so, we were told, to stay over night on observation, if the bleeding stops, they would send me home. If the bleeding continued, , they would induce labor.

An hour later, labor began with a bang!!  Al tried his best to reassure me, but, he was getting woozy, but, he hung in there. Within an hour, I gave my almighty push, and delivered a perfect 6 pound 8 ounce baby girl. Al was like baby you did it! I was counting extremities and fingers and toes, they were all there.. crying with relief and happiness! Our OB was leaving the room, the nurse was kneading my abdomen to deliver the placenta, when she said in a surprised voice to the OB. " Dr, I think you need to come back here, there is another baby in there!" Al's grip on my shoulders went a bit tighter. The OB comes back, saying" No, there is not!" He takes a good look, and says " Oh, GOD! There might be 2 more!!"  Al's grip went even tighter, and he whispers to me, " Quick, close your legs, there might be 2 more!" Boy, if I only could reach his " schmeckle" right then. The Dr quickly " reassures" us that there is only one more, and I calmly say to him." Well, I am done. I had the one I was told I was having, so, YOU get this one out." He seems to think I was joking, but cajoles me, saying come on just one more push, and I reluctantly give another push and scream, 

He is now holding another beautiful baby girl, 6 pounds 1 oz,  and YES, she has all of her arms and legs and fingers and toes, and holy moly, there are 2 babies.. no big head only! The OB is jumping around, announcing to all what a wonderful, mother I am " Look what you have done! This is the first time in my practice I have had twins!" I did not have the energy to correct him, on WHO had the twins. He asks the nurse, " What drugs do we have to give this wonderful mother?" Oh, she runs off a list.. " Morphine, Demerol, Percodan, Dilaudid..."  He tells her to give them ALL to her please, she needs it. Whoa!

My parents had come up to the hospital, to take my boys for the night, even before they knew the " baby " would be born that day. They brought out the babies for them to get a glance, and my father said, " Oh, wow,someone else had a baby at the same time?", and the nurse said, no, they are both your grandchildren"  Whoa. The then bring me by my parents on my way to my " suite", and my drugged self saw my mother's face in multiples, as she grabbed my cheeks and said, " Look what you did!" I  have no idea what she meant at that moment, I was in a completely different world of drugs and shock.

I believe that was 2 miracles, don't you? I am blessed, I have experienced miracles, and I have enough.  I will finish this up in the next blog, and I think we will find more miracles.... I wish you blessings, and miracles, and enough.