We are watching a Twilight marathon on DVD this weekend (swoon) since we missed all the films when they came out in the theatre. We do not get out enough.
Last night’s Breaking Dawn was interrupted by a call from Sir’s father that his mother had had a “malaise” and was in the hospital. Apparently she was disoriented for about six hours and had short-term memory loss, in what I think translates to a small aneurism. My practical, energetic, open-minded, sweet, dynamic mother-in-law did not know where she was or what day it was.
You know, because things were threatening to return to normal.
She’s doing great right now and the doctors assured us that just because it happened once doesn’t necessarily mean there will be a repeat-performance. She came home from the hospital today and is ready to pick back up where she left off with hiking and all the other social activities that she’s involved in (with the doctor’s blessing).
So we’re back to Eclipse tonight, and the pale-faced cuties.
Speaking of pale-faced cuties (who get suspicious moles removed from their face instead of diamond dust) … if you’ve read my blog consistently for awhile now, you would know that a year before I started dating Sir, I was walking across a parking lot with my friend José and I asked him out of the blue who my future husband was. Sir happened to be crossing the path at that moment and José (who knew him and had mentioned him to me before) pointed without hesitation and said, “Him!”
“Oh no, that guy – he’s totally not my type,” was my outward response. “Too pale and aloof” was my inward retort.
But then on our first date after getting to know each other over coffee, Sir took me out for dinner and dancing. I am not a good dancer, but he surprisingly, definitely was. As I stood there frozen on the dance floor and he moved towards me confidently with firm hands that pulled me close, I knew that I was a goner. Hello weak knees. (Hello Edward Cullen).
If you were reading me back then, you might also remember that Sir had suffered a heartbreak at one point a couple of months before we finally got together and was inspired to pray while performing the mundane un-vampire-like task of washing the dishes. He said something like “not only do I not know what kind of wife I need, I don’t even know the kind of wife I want. So God, I pray that you find me a wife.”
That same day his buddy Neyra said, “ hey you should really take my roommate Jennie out. You would like her.” He thought, “could this be the answer to my prayer? So soon?”
“No. Impossible.” So he didn’t call, and destiny was pushed back yet again.
Did I ever tell you about the time that Sir was getting ready to leave for two weeks in France and he prayed to get a free parking spot on the streets of New York City? Do you know how hard it is to get a free parking spot on the streets of New York City?
But there was one – one tiny street in the Village that didn’t have those street-cleaning signs that force you to move your car on alternate days so they can clean the streets. That was the only free parking option, and you can bet that there was never ever a parking spot available on that street because a lot of people knew about it.
But my faithful husband prayed. He pulled up to the street and turned on to it. There were no spots anywhere in sight.
He wasn’t ready to give up yet, so he drove around the block and as he was waiting at the stoplight, he prayed again. “God, if I’m not going to get a ticket and there is no other risk in parking here, I pray you give me a spot on this street. Just think of all the money I can save on parking – I can give that money to you!”
And just at that moment, a car pulled out.
He couldn’t believe his luck and was on pins and needles waiting til the light changed so he could have his chance to grab it. It was his! He got his free spot! So with a light heart, he headed off to the airport where he killed time by cruising around the duty free shop and examining the watch selection. He wasn’t planning to buy a watch, but one of them caught his eye and in a rush, he decided to get it. He brushed off the fact that it was a little expensive, justifying it with “I just saved a bunch of money on parking!”
When he came home two weeks later there was a message from a friend of his who lived on that street and who knew his car, saying he had a bunch of tickets on the windshield. Apparently the very week he left for France, they put street-cleaning signs up on the one remaining street in the City that didn’t have them and he no longer had a get-out-of-parking-free card.
Oh, the betrayal! Oh, the anger! God I specifically prayed that you would give me a spot on that street if I wasn’t going to get a ticket. And now I have a bunch of tickets that I’m going to have to pay for. How could you?
Then he remembered what he had promised to do with the money he saved on parking. He had promised to give it to God, and he had bought a watch instead. When he counted up the parking tickets, you want to know how much the total was? The same amount that he had spent on his new watch … to the penny. (He paid his tickets and then donated the equivalent amount, just as he had promised).
And then there was that time I prayed to be a better servant – did I ever tell you about that?
Sir broke his foot that same day.
“Ah honey, while you’re up can you also bring me a glass of water? Oh, and can you help me to put another pillow under this foot? Uh … sorry, but I left my book on that end of the room.” By nightfall, I was well on my way to servitude.
I don’t know, I kind of think God has a sense of humor.
I mean, my mother-in-law was actually taking a First Aid course when she had her aneurism. At the Red Cross! I can’t even be shocked by this “coincidence.” This is the same woman whose car engine burst into flames while she was idling at a stoplight a few years ago. And parked right behind her was a fire-extinguisher salesman who was all eagerness to demonstrate his wares.
I seriously can’t make this stuff up.
So I think God has a good sense of humor. Or he just loves us humans like crazy.
Or both.
I think God loves you all.
Glad your mother-in-law is alright!