There's No Place Like Home!!

I have heard the expression, "you don't know what you have until it's gone," many times in my life, but have never really appreciated it until just recently.

My husband, John, has been suffering with severely damaged hip joints for several years and rarely complained about it. It was only after loss of mobility and immense pain that he considered surgery.

I watched my athletic husband rapidly change into an old man. His zeal for life and activity greatly diminished when his hips bothered him. Where he used to love to go grocery shopping, he opted to remain in the vehicle and sat quietly waiting.

His sense of humour never faltered though. If anything he was more optimistic when he knew that the surgery was going to alleviate the pain and give him his mobility back.

On the 4th of September, also John's mothers birthday - Happy 84th birthday, Nan - he underwent the first of two total hip replacements by Dr. Stuart Parker at the Peterborough Civic Hospital. The procedure entailed the removal of the hip ball joint which is replaced by a porcelain type ball that is inserted into the leg bone. The hip socket is then lined with a metal plate and then re-attached to the leg. Yes! that made me somewhat squeamish but my faith in Dr. Parker far surpassed any doubts I had. My heart sank as I watched John walk towards the operating room. I knew he was ready for it but he looked back at me apprehensively. The procedure only took 1 and a half hours - recovery took 2. John chose to have the local anesthetic rather than the general (where the patient is totally under). My imagination ran amok as I waited. Then I had a moment of realization - I truly love this man, which I knew before, but was only now really feeling intensely.

Below is a picture of my dear husband, immediately after returning from recovery.

It was very difficult for me to leave but I knew that John wouldn't sleep until I did.

My three children attended the hospital the next day to visit their dad. To my surprise he was up and walked to the washroom - a feat that has progressed in leaps and bounds since earlier days of hip replacement. My daughter, Amanda taught John and I how to text on her cell. John was like a big kid, as was I, texting back and forth that night and the next.

What I found the most difficult in the entire process were the things that I thought I didn't take for granted. I have always been blessed with John's passion for cooking and cleaning up the kitchen when he was done. But now after 18 years of being spoiled, I had to retrain myself how to work these things back into my schedule. Also knowing that John was going to take some time to regain his mobility, I tackled these obstacles like a champ. My list of things-to-do doubled in length but it was my turn to return all the selfless deeds he has lovingly done for me over the years.

I just received a text from John that he passed his physio test and is awaiting for the doctors approval to go home. *fingers crossed*

In my prayers, I thanked God for John's speedy recovery and for sending him such a wonderful medical team. This whole ordeal has given me new eyes to see how totally blessed I am.

I want to thank all my friends for their prayers and good wishes - God bless!! <3

Anne ^i^

A Test of Faith

To test a dye that we may use on our products I made this wristband. The test was a failure but I fell in love with the wristband regardless. I wear it often, especially when I need to remind myself to have faith in God and that things will work out.

Yes, it may be a ostentatious bracelet but if I am going to ask for help I might as well ask for it loudly. On the other side of it, which you don't see, are the words, "Thank you, God." I am Christian and I do believe in the power of prayer and as a spiritualist I know He hears us.

In mid-November we had problems with our '97 SUV. Unexpectedly, "Jimmy needed major repairs to pass the emissions test. Thus taking a huge bite out of our Christmas money. With cool heads John and I presevered having faith that the money would magically show up. The magic of prayer and positive thinking brought us a rush of sales from our Etsy site at Christmas and continues to this day.

Sadly, it has been reported that our area (near Toronto, Canada) has a recorded high amount of snow fall in over 75 years. That translates to - yes - you have it, "Jimmy" lost his reverse gear. Parking for the last two months has been a challenge..., sigh!! Again, John and I remained calm and put our faith in God that we would get through this. The sales continued to come in and we thank Him for every blessing. At one point we believed the crisis was over...., until of course one afternoon, while taking our son to work in the next town, the transmission ceased to work. Jimmy would not go beyond second gear. Thirty-five kilometers an hour was all it could do. I never thought I would look forward to stopping for red lights or travelling behind slow moving vehicles. In fact, John and I would laugh when a garbage truck sped off leaving us trailing behind.

Since we have invested all our savings in getting our business off the ground, cash flow is sparce. At least the interact machines haven't laughed at us yet - that's a good sign.
As I look down at my wristband I sent out another request to the universe - any color vehicle will do - God -thank you!! Patience is our lesson at this time.

When I start to feel sorry for myself and downtrodden I think of the ladies that I have met on etsy. All of them in their own way have faced great adversities. One of my most recent friends is, Nancy. In one of our first conversations she candidely shared some life experiences with me. Hers dwarfed mine by a longshot. An error occurred during a transaction and I wanted to re-imburse her for it. She nonchalantly told me to send it along stating, they are just things! She was referring to objects in our lives that most of us (me) consider(d) important. She in her own way reminded me of what is important in our short lives. It is something I give thanks for everyday - my family. When I feel like I am drowning in circumstance I close my eyes for a second and imagine them gone. Everything else pales in comparison.

Pat is another such friend. She and Nancy have helped me open my eyes. Their kindness and candor is refreshing and welcome.

This is a chakra necklace which I use in meditation

To the wonderful people that chat with me on our Etsy site and my good friends, Kim and Deb, at the post office, their friendly smile and kind words get me through these hard times. Thank you!!!

Smiles!!! ^i^

A Solemn Day

My heart sank yesterday as the words from my teen children buzzed around in my head.

I have lived in the small town of Cobourg for 19 years with my family. Our three children have lived here since birth. It is a quaint community where not much goes unnoticed by the locals. If truth be told word of mouth supercedes the speed of press release.

Our children attended Terry Fox Public School in their elementary years. Then moved on to high school. During those many years at Terry Fox we have grown to know the faculty quite well and even though our children have moved on we continue to cross paths with their teachers from time-to-time. We have shared some laughs and eventful moments between our children and their teachers. Some pleasant - some not so pleasant but in the end we remained amicable and courteous.

While driving our two oldest children home from St. Mary's Secondary High school on the 14th of January, in a matter-of-fact tone, our son said, "Mrs. Kernaghan died yesterday." Shocked at the news I fired a hundred questions at him.

According to the newspapers Suzanne Kernaghan, a grade two teacher at Terry Fox, collided with a fully loaded tractor-trailer on Hwy 28 near the 5th line. Suzanne and Michelle Broomsfield, a grade 2/3 teacher at Baltimore Public School were killed in a collision. The woman were returning home after attending a one-day professional development course..., on Tuesday at around 6:30pm.

All I could think about were her two young children, Larissa - 12yrs and Ryan - 10 yrs-old and her dear husband, Roger. My youngest daughter was a student of Suzanne's for three years as was my oldest daughter. My heart went out to them. I am a Christian and believe when we pass on we go on to a better place. But nothing can illeviate the pain her family must be experiencing at this tragic time.

I think of the words that John Travolta expressed about the loss of his sixteen year-old son, Jet recently. I paraphrase, "I treasure the short time that we spent with our son."

We have all lost someone special in our hearts and lives. I have lost my dear sister, Mary, two short years ago in her 47th year, of complications that developed during surgery on her broken hip. I had only spoken to her days before her passing..., then she was gone.

I have designed this commerative bookmark in honor of her life and sent it to my mother as a token of love knowing that she would have wanted it more than I. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of her and my departed father, John Gottschalk. Whether in my dreams or thoughts they will always be with me.

My family and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Kernaghan and Broomfield family's for their terrible loss.

IN MEMORY OF:

Michelle Broomfield 1971 - 2009

(Dawn) Suzanne Kernaghan 1969 - 2009

Mary Catherine Gottschalk 1959- 2006

John Francis Gottschalk 1930 - 1985

May God keep you safe!!