And today is three gifts prayed for:
- I adored my father...but he was quirky, cerebral, task-oriented, and his need for people was only on his terms. Many have speculated, me included, that he may have had a high form of Asperger's. Intelligent and very rigid and routined...keeping his anxiety in check often bulldozed over his relationships. At times I felt invisible and almost an interference. Example: Call home...dad answers, "Hi Denise...I'm fine...here's your mom." (Oh, the stories I could tell...which are humorous and endearing to me now!) Mind you, the impact of his behavior on me was beyond any personal insight he could grasp. I prayed that I might have a meaningful relationship with my dad...a connection. I did not expect God's gift of connecting with my dad to be provided through pain. But as my mother developed Alzheimer's dementia...as my mom's caregiver, my dad was transformed... During the past six years of his life, as God transformed him through caregiving, God bestowed to me the gift of a connected, close relationship with my father.
- One of the desires of my heart was to get some good photographs of white-tailed deer. Look at this beauty...and she was really that close! No cropping and at only 70mm. What a gift!
- While on vacation...Edster has been putting a floodlight out on the deck over the back lawn and putting "goodlies" (corn, peanut puffs, spicy cheez-its) out for critters. Last night we had 12 deer (4 bucks), 2 red tailed foxes, one baby raccoon, and a skunk... So Edster and Bruno went out to replenish the supply...despite the commands of his master, Bruno corners the skunk! And he got SKUNKED!! Edster was so upset...and there was no way Bruno could come inside. I prayed, "Lord help us find a remedy so that he won't fume us out on the drive back to Ohio!" After a mixture of Tom Collins drink mix, diluted tomato soup concentrate, and tomato sauce "Massengilled" into Bruno's coat...and subsequent rinse off and shower...he was back in the house by the time we went to bed. A little dejected...but he was odorless. Another gift prayed for! While not funny at the time...it is this morning...another great story...just like the story about...well, I'll save it for another blog entry. <smile>
I love your posts Denise I feel I'm really getting to know you through your blogs. I'm so glad you connected with your Father, Unfortunately I never did with mine. Poor Bruno I bet he was very embarrassed at his encounter ....
ReplyDeleteThanks, Viv...it is fun to reflect. There was a time I thought that when my father died I would not feel a thing...but in retrospect I would have felt regret if I had not been able to connect with him emotionally...sorrow. I know his issues were his capacity, not his unwillingness.
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