What Next? I Shouldn't Have Asked That.

I have two or three bits of posts saved on my now defunct laptop. Along with all the pictures from our vacation. I don't know if I can rescue any of it. Which means that some of the pictures on here are the only records I currently have of my vacation. Joy.

Apparently, 9 months ago when we got our laptop, it came with a pirate copy (or more likely a Volume License copy) of Windows XP. I don't know if the original got stolen from somewhere, if Windows noticed there were 20 machines using the same key code, or what... but yesterday and without warning, I can't even look on my own desktop, because Windows XP is non-functioning. I can't log on to the internet, I can't log into my user functions... the laptop is suddenly one very expensive paper weight. The last laptop had a hard drive crash that was basically irreplaceable. This one will likely be wiped when we install the new "Genuine" Windows XP copy we just had to buy online.

I haven't gotten over the grieving, and now I can't even blog about it the way I wanted to! Frustration. Lots and lots of frustration. We do still have the desktop computer in the office, so I am still blessed with access to the internet. The internet is such a blessing. I have so many friends now that I would not have known otherwise.

So... Do me a favor, please? Pray. Pray that I do NOT get angry and yell mean things to the phone help. They don't get paid enough to really handle that, and it isn't their fault the system stinks. (I have been on the receiving end of that, it is no fun. I know enough to ask for a supervisor, who can get me to the manager, who can get me Bill Gates himself if I have to...but the receptionist or the call center helper in Asia doesn't care that my laptop became a rock with no warning.) Also, pray that the money we spent this evening doesn't end up being down the tubes because of not being able to USE the fix we paid for.

There is purpose to everything, even if I don't see it right now. And I don't see it right now.

"Just like the shapes on my grandmother's rug,
You can't see the pattern when you're too close up.
From my point of view we are all far too human to see...
It's part of the mystery."
~~~ Song called Part of the Mystery by Dana Key (as in Degarmo and Key, if you are interested, but this was from his solo album called By Divine Design)

Also, this week I received some more bad news. I have another friend named Kim, who also died in a car accident, also on Friday last week, and also left a lot of family and friends behind. Kim McDaniel, a friend who lived in Farmington, New Mexico, was going with her family to Albuquerque to join a cruise trip to celebrate her daughter's High School Graduation. The family was in their SUV when they hit icy conditions, lost control of the car, crossed three lanes of traffic, and got hit by an oncoming vehicle. Kim died in their vehicle, and two people died in the other vehicle. So instead of going on a cruise, Jade is healing from her own wounds from the accident, and mourning the loss of her mom. I am crying just typing it here.

I can't fathom the depths of God's love, and I know that He holds both Kim McDaniel and Kim Whitlow in His hands... but I don't know how much more sorrow I can handle. I am weary.

On a brighter note (since we all seem to need one), my Dad has been by to read the blog, and said that he liked my writing. He told Mom that I am very detailed. That was a wonderful thing to hear. I told Mom that it is a fine balance between having enough detail to be interesting, and keeping enough anonymity to be safe. That "way with words" that MammaMia complemented me on came at the hefty cost of a college education I didn't even finish. As previously posted, however, I have finally paid it off. And then I bought another dictionary to read. I have thought about reading the Thesaurus next. Next year, after I finish the 888 Challenge this year.

Please tell your family you love them today. Give them a big hug, and make today count. We may not get a tomorrow.

Memorial Day Thanks And Thoughts

Memory is a newly hurt part of my anatomy today. The old wounds and new are blending to become a scar that I will boast as making me stronger, if only because it didn't kill me.

I am taking a pause today to remember many who are no longer with me, and those who have served and who are currently serving for Old Glory. Some of their actions have been small, but the effects have been ripples on the lake, impacting many areas of my life in small and large ways.

I pray that God blesses those who have served our Country in the past. I pray that God stands beside those serving our Country today. I ask compassion on the families of those of us left to mourn death. I pray that you have some measure of peace today.

IN MEMORY OF:

Phillip Thomas Sanders
Ervin Chee
Gary and Kim Whitlow
Charles and Violet Clarke
Bob Yarbrough
Jimmy Elijah Chaffin
Dean Garrison
Russ Lewis
Jim Moore
John Clark
Adam Langford


HONORING VETERANS:

Franklin Clarke
Roger Gaddie
D. C. "Mac" Macdonald
D. "Grumpy Old Veteran" Rich


HONORING SOLDIERS CURRENTLY SERVING:

Jonathan Hannan

Please do not think that this is a definitive list. If I have forgotten you or your loved ones, please excuse my lack of memory. This is the list that came to mind today.
~~~~~~~~~~
May your BBQ not burn, may your corn not pop (unless you wish it to!) and may your watermelon seeds spit the farthest!

My Heart Breaks Today

There are times when news is just not real. It takes a while for tragic news to sink in. I got the phone call, and I still don't comprehend it. It can't be. It just isn't right. And yet, here we are.

I made a friend online barely a year ago. I met her in person on my recent vacation to Colorado. She was delightfully fun to talk to, and had so much love in her heart for others. She had a deep desire to be a woman of God, a wife of nobility (like the Proverbs 31 wife), and a true friend.

Her husband was quiet (at least during dinner), and so much like my own DH. A great love for the Lord was stored up in his heart. He was great with children (this is a crop of a picture I took of him holding one of MammaMia's girls), and cared deeply for his wife.

This afternoon, I learned that Suezque and her Hubby had perished in a tornado on Friday night, while driving to Kansas to visit family members for the Memorial Day Weekend. The car was picked up by the tornado, and thrown several hundred feet off the road. There is a video as well as the news story here. Please pray for both families.

I am grateful that Jayme and Sally thought to call me. They had noticed that Suezque and I had become good friends, and a daily part of each other's lives. She was a bright spot on my blog, and in my life. I have to trust in God, that He will keep her close to His heart, until we meet again.

While this is a profound sorrow for those of us who will miss them terribly, there is joy to know that they are now with the Lord.