isn't ~may~ over yet?

"The journey is the reward."

~Tao proverb

i think it's been a week since i've been out here...

floating through cyberspace.

maybe it's been a couple of weeks.

maybe a month...it sure feels like it!

my sciatica problem was about 99% gone...(totally healed now as i write this),

when my lower, right side jaw began to ache.  throb.

i woke up one morning looking like a chipmunk

and in way too much pain.

i drove to the nearest emergency walk-in clinic and left with a prescription

for antibiotics and another for an anti-inflammatory...

and a diagnosis of an abscessed tooth.

but until the medication coursed through my body...

the swelling & pain kept getting worse.

i thought my jaw would burst.

i cancelled all my appointments.

i did nothing.   nada.   zilch.

i'm ok now.  well, sort of.

i have an app't (fear!) with a dentist (fear!) tuesday afternoon (fear!) for them to take a look.

while my jaw swelling was subsiding

and the throbbing became bearable...

i got a call from the mother of one of my clients.

i figured she was calling to set up a massage for her daughter...like she does each month.

nope.

she called to tell me that ginny had died that morning.

~WHAT?!!~

i thought i misunderstood her.

i've been seeing ginny for about eight years. 

in the beginning, she was getting massage therapy once a week.

then we went to twice a month.

and for the past few years i've seen her once a month.

ginny was 29. she lived in a Group Home. she had Cerebral Palsy.

that morning, the staff got her out of bed and into her wheel-chair.

she complained of back pain.

she complained of not being able to breathe. 

the staff called 911 and ginny's mother.

ginny had a seizure. then a heart attack.

she passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital...of yet, a second heart attack.

ginny was such a happy-go-lucky person.

always wanting to please.

always wanting to help.

and always wanting to talk about her boyfriend problems...and eager for advice.

she loved anything Sponge-Bob...and could recite line by line...all the Harry Potter movies.

she had a contagious smile.

although she needed assistance with some of her daily activities...

she was always bubbly & wanting to do whatever she could...for herself...and others.

once ginny crossed your path...she had claim to a piece of your heart.

it was a shock.

but i know that wherever her spirit is...she runs free...

on legs that were never able to hold her upright independently.

she's probably rolling around in a field of wildflowers...laughing...

and playing with her dog who recently passed away.

ginny was her mother's joy & light.

i feel for her.

she is missed...by all those who had the pleasure of being touched by her.

this candle is in remembrance of ginny's life.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.    

~Thomas Campbell, "Hallowed Ground"

it's still the month of May.

saturday morning, sam & i were going to pick wild blackberries 

from the field across the road.

but there were a couple of wild fires not too far away...

and the air was thick with smoke and un-breathable.

so, i decided to head into town and do some grocery shopping.

when i pulled into the parking lot...and parked...

my car wouldn't shut off.

the key wouldn't turn.

so i drove back home...

but even sam, who is a mechanical genius, couldn't get the key to turn in the ignition.

back to town.

hoping the chevy place was open...being a holiday weekend.

whew.  they were open.  and i found out there was a recall for the faulty ignition.

so after a two hour wait, i was good to go. my car was good to go...

and my wallet wasn't any lighter!

oOo

i've decided i can't keep up with my newly developed plans for both a 

Friday Fringe and Morphing Monday posts.

...eenie meanie miny mo...

friday fringe it is...with a morph tossed in now and then.

(oops. power outage. thunder rolling in.

 tropical storm, winds & rain heading in our direction.)

SO, i ask again...isn't May over yet?

i'm looking forward to june...and a full moon.

oOo

remember...reflect...and honor...

all the soldiers that have died while serving our nation.

a happy memorial day to those in the usa.

be cool. stay safe.

laura

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, 

and sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.  

~Emily Dickenson