The courage of a little boy..........

Today a trip to Richmond was on the agenda, to accompany my sister, Kathryn and 9 year old great nephew, Trey, to the plastic surgeons office. He had two moles on his face, one of which was "suspicious" so they were going to remove them. Trey's mom, Kristy, remained in MCV Hospital but is out of ICU and making "progress" with her Leukemia battle. They expect to send her home soon.
So this brave little man went with his Grannie KK and Aunt Molly to the surgeons. Not having spent a great deal of time with little Trey, I was expecting him to be a little squeamish about his procedures, but, nope, what a trooper he was. He never showed any fear and marched right into the office very calmly. When he later emerged with his battle scars, he continued his bravery all day! We spent the rest of the day together and had pizza and ice cream and ended up at the Krispy Kreme Do-nut store. He selected do-nuts for his brothers and sister so he could share when he got home.

Since our children are grown and we do not have any grandchildren, it has been awhile since I really spent any time caring for a child. What a truly delightful day was had with little Trey! He was such a joy to be with and never complained about his "stitches". I know he has been worried about his Mom, and I think about how much his life has been affected by the sickness that has stricken her. It is such a potent reminder that life is very precious and how grateful we are to have our health and the little things that we take for granted every day. It was a valuable lesson from the courage of a little boy.

We have also spent a good bit of time with our dear friends, Linda and Everett since we returned to Warsaw. Linda and Everett have been good friends for many years. We have made many RVing trips together, chased several hurricanes, worked on many projects and generally just had lots of good times together. On the 29th of September Everett suffered a massive stroke and has not walked or talked since then. After over 60 days in the hospital, he is back at home and spends his days in a wheelchair, with Linda caring for him. She is faced with the mighty task of putting their life back together. There are many tough days for her, as she deals with things "one day at a time".
It is very difficult to see Everett, his right side useless, and unable to communicate with us, as he was once a very talkative, active, and gregarious man.

This is also a vivid reminder of how precious each day is, and how grateful we should be for our health, happiness, families and friends.
One never knows what lies around the next bend, nor what will be our fate the next day. We are truly grateful for every day, and especially for the blessing of good health, friends and family!