January 1 – “Happy New Year”

Boy, did we ever get to hear the new year come in.  Our neighbor across the street (in "MeeMaw's" house) had a rip-roaring, rousing party.  Apparently they are not allowed to smoke in the house, because there was always a large contingent out on the front porch with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.    Beginning around 9:30 or so we began hearing fireworks in the distance.  At one point I went to the door to check on the party's progress, and a bottle rocket shot across my field of vision – flying horizontally.  Really exciting stuff.  Not so much for the folks in the houses that it was headed toward.   Another time we heard what sounded like a gunshot, accompanied by a large flash of light.  That one was repeated several times.  And every time Josh and Christi ran back to the bedroom to check on the boys.  They slept through it all.   Chris got home from the hospital (another story to come later) about 11:45.  At 11:50 her homecoming was welcomed with a barrage of explosions right next to our car.  She was already in the house, so we rushed to the door again.  One of the guests had lit an entire package of firecrackers and turned them loose in the street right by our car.  All seemed well when the round completed.  And that pretty much concluded things.  We thought sure there would be a grand climax at midnight, but they didn't even come outside.  We were able to welcome in the new year rather quietly inside by guessing the answer to Final Jeopardy.    Now about the hospital.  Chris' Mom was finally transported to Houston, but not to St.. Luke's.  All the beds there were full, so she was taken to Methodist instead.  Chris followed the ambulance into Houston, and her Dad went home to rest.  Her Mom is in intensive care.  Her blood pressure keeps dropping dangerously low, and there was a time when her kidneys seemed to be trying to shut down.  She was pretty dehydrated, too.  The last round of chemo left her with vomiting and diarrhea.  The blood transfusion seemed to help  at first until the nausea kicked in again and the blood pressure tanked.    Chris stayed and answered questions until they got her all enrolled and established in a bed.  Then about 10:30 she finally left for home.  The good news for those of us waiting and worrying at home was that she missed the Texas Bowl football traffic altogether.  The bad news was it was misting and streets were wet and it was getting close to crazy hour.  God watched over her once again, though.  She is understandably stressed right now, but her nurse persona is awfully strong, and it tends to take over in times like these.  She'll be fine for a long time before she'll need to crash for awhile.  I need to stay ready for that point.    Josh and Christi and Zak and Caleb left around 10:30 this morning.  Mom fell asleep watching the Rose Bowl parade.  Looks like no one else is coming over for lunch today, so we'll do our ham and cabbage and black eyed peas and celebrate New Year's Day.   Psalms 81:1-2 says, "Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob!  2 Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre."   Father, that's what I would like for our new year.  Music.  Shouts.  Songs.  And God Our Strength..  Amen.