Zinger of a Curve Ball

Life is unexpected, simply put.

Right now I was supposed to be on the road with my parents and grandma Wyszkowski, driving to the Outerbanks of North Carolina. I imagine I'd be catching up with my parents, my grandma would be filling me in on her aches and pains, and there would be some disagreement on interpretation of stories from home. Grandma tends to see things a little different than mom and dad. Then Grandma would change the subject abruptly - she has an uncanny skill - and all of a sudden we'd be talking about her blueberry bushes or something.

Anyhow, it is Saturday morning, my parents are home in Binghamton, and my dad has shingles and bronchitis. I'm here in DC waiting for my brother Mark and sister Stephanie to arrive from Brooklyn. The short story is my dad got horribly ill this past week and my parents have decided they aren't in any shape to travel, at least right now. This is not what my sister and Karen and I were planning. The whole purpose of our week together in the Outerbanks was to celebrate 35 years of marriage and my dad's good health, but instead my dad is home with lesions on his head, and my mom is dutifully caring for him, but understandably concerned and exhausted. Hmmm. It is a gigantic bummer, a curve ball I definitely wasn't expecting. Life is unexpected. And, once again, I will only come to understand God's ways in heaven. Please pray for healing and that my parents might still be able to join us later this coming week.

We still have so much to celebrate. Although my father's current circumstances are not fun and are quite unnerving, the very, very good news, Praise the Lord, is that his PT scan for cancer came back negative this week. We are all quite relieved and grateful.

Well, I guess I should get packing. You never now when the siblings will arrive. It will be an interesting road trip to say the least. Looking forward to the adventure. From DC, we will be off to Durham (where Steph will start med school at Duke) to drop some things off at her new apartment and from there to Corolla in the Outerbanks. Whooo, I guess I better get prepared for the miles ahead....