A Simple Solution

Good morning!

A long month crammed with work, events, and not feeling well for one reason or another is ebbing (I hope) with waking up this morning feeling more discomfort than pain.

The details are for another blog post (quite a few half-started over the last couple of weeks). But last Monday's episode left me with some mild head pain that became significant head and neck pain by Thursday.

Tests from the first ER trip were normal - and so were tests from the second. Either way, I still need follow-up tests. But it's easier to think and get things done when one is not in pain.

Last Monday night was an al-nighter in the ER (and then I went to work). Last Saturday was an a---nighter in the ER - and then the pain didn't let me sleep on Sunday night.

So, three all-nighters in the last week.

During Monday night's violent storm, I found relief leaning against the wall in the basement and fell asleep.

So Rebekah suggested a heating pad. 

She brought hers downstairs for me to use while we watched a bit of "Sanditon" to distract me. The heat really felt good.

I woke up yesterday after a decent rest with much of the head pain gone and feeling very tight in my neck and shoulders. That was a very hopeful sign. 

I used the heating pad after work last night and the pain was much reduced over the evening. So I used it again before bedtime.

I expect the pain to flare up as I use my head and neck today. But I'm hopeful that the intensity will be reduced.

Who'd have thought the solution could be so simple?

A Cat That Knows Her Bounds (and tests them anyway)

Because of my asthma, none of my cats are allowed near my pillows, and they know it.

Woodstock is Faith's comfort animal, and she drags him everywhere.

As I started to snap a photo of the evidence to show the kids...

...Faith rushed up with this photo bomb, 

and then hurried to remove the evidence.

I hope you're smiling - and that the smile continues the rest of today.

By the way (and you'd thought I'd forgotten), the BryonySeries Holiday Book Sale ends tomorrow.

For every $5 of books purchased, you will receive a $1 coupon to The Book Market in Crest Hill. If you live out of the area, consider buying anyway and donating your credits to a child in need to further the cause of literacy.

For details, visit bryonyseries.com/promotions.

BryonySeries Throwback Thursday: Grandma, Can I Have a Blessing?

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Grandma, Can I Have a Blessing?

That question (minus "the grandma") is a common refrain in our household at bedtime, and one that has been resounding since my oldest child--almost thirty-one and standing nearly six-ten--was eighteen months old and wearing one-piece, zippered sleeper pyjamas with plastic feet.

That's when I was reading a series of child rearing books by 1950's Catholic mother of seven Mary Reed Newland, the best source of mothering wisdom I've ever encountered. In one of her books, Newland briefly mentioned how, after witnessing another family use the custom, she and her husband began giving her children "blessings:" at bedtime, before special events, etc.

The concept appealed to me, so I began adding this blessing prayer with the goodnight kiss: Christopher David, may the blessing of the Lord be upon you always, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. While doing so, I traced a little cross on his forehead. Christopher, although non-verbal at the time, was soon babbling back to me and tracing marks on my forehead with his tiny index finger.

As Christopher's siblings arrived, bedtime blessings lengthened and included Sarah Catherine, Joshua Paul, Timothy Michael, Rebekah Anne, and Daniel John. Most of the adult children living in my household still request blessings at bedtime, and I still receive them in return. If our schedules cross, we text them to each other.

As my children began having children, some of most of them continued the tradition, too, which was soooooo cool for me to experience. And of course, when I see my grandchildren, the goodbyes always include a blessing.

Friday evening, as I was walking out the door for the night, my five-year-old grandson stopped me with a, "Grandma, can I have a blessing?" After I happily bestowed that upon him, I asked him for one in return. I bent low; Ronnie placed his little hand on my forehead and recited the sweetest prayer. Then he gave me a quick hug and dashed away to find Uncle Daniel.

It's such a simple practice, and yet...think of the many, many decades of prayers we have raised heavenward on each other's behalf. The custom has created more than a family legacy, but a treasure whose value we'll realize only in eternity.

Mary Reed Newland, I owe you.