from pumpkin pancakes, french toast,
and a new sofa to lounge on afterward
to a precious puppy-dogger...
from sea monkeys,
which finally hatched,
to a sweet afternoon on the lane...
this has been our week in pictures;
it's been a good one:)
have a lovely weekend, all!!!
love and God's blessings,
dani xx>
placing his hands on both sides of my face,
he interrupted, "no, you...
i cannot tell you right now, dani.
i've got no voice,
but, when i am able,
i am going to tell you all about where i've been."
"ok," i replied, "i cannot wait to hear all about it, mosses!!!"
i never spoke any truer words...
i couldn't wait to hear mosses' story.
~@~
over the next few days, i visited mosses frequently. each time i visited, i had high hopes he'd tell me the story. but it didn't happen; he mentioned nothing. at first i assumed he was just waiting until we were alone... as there were always others visiting when i was there.
as time passed, mosses continued to heal; he got stronger and stronger. however, he was becoming more and more confused with each visit. one of his nurses mentioned could be suffering from icu syndrome, a condition that causes clouding of consciousness, restlessness, disorientation, etc...
hence, i wondered if he even remembered the story he had wanted to share with me. the thought i may never know made me really sad. however, i could not be too sad because the greatest gift was that he was alive and getting better!
~@~
after church on sunday, i arrived at the hospital for the noon visiting time. the icu doors opened, and i made my way back to mosses room. he looked great!
"hey, mosses, how are you feeling today?" i greeted him.
"well, dani, bless your heart..." he said as i kissed his forehead.
"mr. moss didn't eat much of his lunch," his nurse informed me.
i looked over at mosses; he was situating himself in his bed.
when the nurse left, i asked him if he was still hungry. he responded he was and he just wasn't fond of what they had brought him for lunch. i thought something must have been up, for mr. moss normally had the appetite of a strapping young man.
so, i asked him if he wanted me to see if i could go and pick him up a plate-lunch from his favorite restaurant.
"well, now..." he started, "that would be mighty nice, dani."
poking my head out his door, i asked his nurse if that would be a problem. she said it wouldn't and she would allow me to bring it in and stay with him through the 2pm visit.
when i asked mosses what he'd like to have for lunch, he told me that he wanted bean soup and cornbread. THEN, he told me he wanted to go WITH me!
in response to my attempting to explain to him that he could not leave the hospital, he explained to me we would just SNEAK!!!
~@~
not knowing how to handle the situation without upsetting him, i plopped down in a chair, which was located next to mosses' hospital bed.
"God, what am i supposed to do now?" i silently prayed.
"now then, dani, can i help you with your coat?" mr. moss was confused.
"i've got it, thank you," i replied. "you are going to have to be really quiet while i wheel you out of here."
i went on to describe we were getting on the elevator, then in the car, that we were driving, and that we were at the restaurant.
mosses slid one of his legs out from under the covers as if he were going to go into the restaurant with me. i told him he would have to wait in the car... the restaurant was crowded... people waiting in line for a table. i told him to just wait there... i would get his lunch to go.
"golly muggins, i cannot believe there's such a crowd this time of the day..." he said.
"sit tight, mosses," i'll be right back; do you want me to leave the car running?"
i looked over at mosses to find that he'd drifted off to sleep.
"thank you, GOD!"
~@~
i rushed out to go to ralph's.
about 15 minutes later, i returned to the hospital bearing beans, cornbread, and a slice of chocolate pie.
"can i get anything else for you?" the nurse offered.
"he would love a cup of coffee with a straw and a few extra napkins," i answered her. "thank you."
when he heard my voice, mosses stirred.
"i have everything you ordered plus a slice of chocolate pie."
the nurse brought mosses a cup of coffee and wheeled his hospital tray over in front of him. then i proceeded to place the food on the tray. "would you like for me to help you, mosses?" i asked.
"i'd appreciate it, dani," he answered.
~@~
mosses ate every bite...
pie and all!
about the time i got everything cleaned away, mosses' family trickled in to visit.
"well, hello there, george... dani," susie said.
i smiled at her, "hey, susie!"
"george, are you just now finishing up lunch?" she asked.
mosses cut his eyes over at me and proceeded to tell her and the others i'd sneaked him out of the hospital and had taken him to ralph's to pick up his lunch!
they cut their eyes at me.
i was going to have a little explaining to do...
~@~
(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,
dani xxx
ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)
today, i am going to spend
the ENTIRE day
with these two...
katherine and jacob:)
off to ihop for pancakes:P
have a lovely day, all;
i intend to do so:D
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
apparently, mosses was NOT READY!!!
(2 days prior, the intensive care doctor
had given mosses only 2 days to live...
as his vital organs were ceasing to function.
however, the doctor never took into account
mosses' will to live... nor God's omnipotence.)
~@~
as soon as i walked outside the hospital doors, i turned on my cell phone and called john, "guess who is awake and talking!"
there was silence.
"john, are you there?" i asked.
john responded, "i'm here..."
"john, i just came from seeing mosses... john, he's awake and talking! his kidneys are functioning! he wants a toddy!"
john was stunned. he had warned me several times not to get my hopes up...
"well, i'll be," he finally replied.
~@~
knowing mosses' family would want to spend time with him, john and i waited until the latest visiting time to return to the hospital that evening. i was just hoping mosses would still be awake.
at 8 pm the automatic doors opened allowing visitors back in the intensive care unit. i wanted to run to his room, but, instead, i walked at john's side.
when we FINALLY arrived at his door, the first thing i noticed was that mosses was NOT in his bed!
the bed was empty and made?
in slow motion, i anxiously turned my head toward john only to witness a big grin forming across his face. i turned back around to see that mr. moss was not only awake... he was out of his bed sitting in a chair.
further, there was no ventilator helping him breathe; there were no ties on his wrists restraining him.
he was just sitting there looking up at us!
~@~
"it's good to see you're back with us, young man..." john said as he gently patted mosses' shoulder, "feeling rough?"
mosses smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and tilted his head, "well, john, not too bad for a share cropper's son."
mosses' voice was raspy at best, but we understood every word.
i knelt down on the floor in front of him. "mosses you are such a blessing to..."
placing his hands on both sides of my face,
he interrupted, "no, you...
i cannot tell you right now, dani.
my voice...
my throat...
but, when i am able to,
i am going to tell you all about where i've been."
"ok," i replied, "i cannot wait to hear all about it, mosses!"
i never spoke any truer words...
i couldn't wait to hear mosses' story.
~@~
john and i only stayed a bit longer that night. we knew that mosses was tired... it had been a BIG day for our dearest friend.
"sweet dreams; i love you mosses..." i said to him as i kissed his forehead.
"well, bless your heart, dani, we love you, too."
~@~
(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,
dani xxx
ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)
(my sweet, little puppy-dogger)
have a great weekend, loves:)
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
"God, take him now if he is ready;
but, if he is not ready. leave him,
and leave him whole!!!"
(i had never prayed so boldly in my life.)
i started to cry.
i cried harder.
the harder i cried the more still mosses became.
i cried until i could cry no more.
mosses fought til he fought no more.
i sat there with my head lying on his still hand,
which was still embraced by both of mine...
both of us were spent.
~@~
a few moments later a nurses' aid saw i was still in mosses' room. "miss, you are going to have to leave. visiting time was over 10 minutes ago."
wondering where the time had gone, i raised my head and looked at the clock on the wall . "can i stay for just a bit longer? he's calm now."
"no," she insisted, "you need to leave now so we can stay on schedule."
"schedule!!?!?" i thought to myself.
i kissed mosses' hand and told him i loved him.
~@~
as i was leaving i saw susie and jean were still there. i stopped and told them mosses had finally calmed down and he seemed to be resting peacefully. susie told me mosses' nephew was planning to visit at noon. so, i told her and jean i would wait until the 2pm visit to return. jean replied she would be there at that time as well.
i left the hospital that morning exhausted but at peace knowing that God was in total control of the situation.
~@~
time crept by very slowly that day...
every time my phone rang, my heart seemed to skip a beat...
no news was good news!
~@~
at a quarter till two, i walked out of my house and to my van then drove to the north tower of the hospital where mosses' room was located. i got out of the van, walked into the hospital, got into the elevator, watched the doors close, and felt myself start to ascend. everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.
when the doors opened and i stepped out into the hallway, i saw jean leaning against the wall waiting for the icu doors to open.
"any news?" i asked.
she shook her head, "no."
"the dry cleaners said they would have mr. moss' black suit ready first thing in the morning. the boys (mrs. moss' nephews, charlie and rufus) will be coming into town tomorrow; so, i have the house ready for them to stay. the service will be on saturday..." she continued.
although i heard what she was saying, i digested very little of it.
~@~
the doors opened at 2pm sharp. as we walked through them, mr. mosses' nurse noticed us. "ladies," he addressed us, "come, you need to see something."
as we anxiously proceeded into mosses' room, we found him sleeping (just as i'd left him a little over 5 hours prior). my first assumption was that the nurse was only showing us he was finally resting.
however, i was wrong.
the nurse took mosses' hand in his and tapped it with his other hand, "mr. moss, mr. moss, you have visitors!"
at that very moment, mosses opened his eyes. then he turned his head toward me; looking right at me he said,
"well, dani, bless your heart."
he still had the ventilator in his mouth, but there was no misunderstanding his words.
tears of happiness started to flow from my eyes.
"mosses!" i squealed.
i looked at jean and then at the nurse.
"is he going to be alright?" i asked the nurse.
"well, it seems his kidneys started functioning again this morning, and his chest sounds are sounding more and more normal. dr. divine ordered another chest x ray, so we should know more about the pneumonia later this afternoon."
the whole time the nurse was talking i just looked at mosses. he was smiling around the sides of the vent.
i kissed his hand.
"i bet i know what you want..." i said to him.
he tilted his head to the side waiting for me to finish.
"a toddy!"
he grinned again and replied, "sounds mighty nice."
~@~
apparently, mosses was NOT READY!!!
(to be continued...)
love and God's blessings,
dani xxx
ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)
last sunday morning john packed the commander to overflowing and waved, "good-bye", as i backed my jeep out of the driveway and onto the lane. i waved back to him.
carrying precious cargo, katherine, jacob, hannah, and darin (aka... the scooby doo gang;), i drove 6 hours from the lane to our destination, the great smoky mountains!!!
late sunday afternoon, we arrived at our chalet, which i'd leased for the week. it was really nice... three bedrooms/three baths, a great room with pool table, big screen tv, and fireplace, a hot tub, and even dolly parton rockers, ha!!!
perfect:)))
the drive up???
not so much!!!
we decided that this would be a week of celebrations...
monday = halloween
we started monday off with the pancake pantry followed by photos in the village, a scary walk through the mysterious mansion, a ride up the sky lift, barbecued chicken pizza at the chalet and a scary movie!!!
tuesday = thanksgiving
we celebrated with a trip to ripley's aquarium, tepee pictures, and later at the chalet... relaxation in the the hot tub followed by turkey sandwiches... it was pouring rain, which meant no driving down the mountainside for me!!!
wednesday = Christmas
on wednesday we went to the outlet mall stimulating ralph lauren's economy and did a late lunch at tony roma's. we then went to the Christmas place in pigeon forge where we each bought Christmas tree ornaments for each other so that we could decorate a silk tree back at the chalet. what's Christmas without a little tree trimming??? after exchanging ornaments and decorating the tree, we finished out the day with brick oven pizza:P
oh... the scooby gang also happened upon a bear...
not to worry, after a call for help, i rescued them:/
(photo of said bear as we passed by it;)
thursday = new year's eve
we kicked off thursday's celebration with a trip to the log cabin pancake house. afterward, we headed over to pigeon forge for fun at magiquest, pictures at wonderworks, and cherry limeade at sonic. we returned to gatlinburg for old time photos, taffy, and fudge. after a nap, we ventured to corky's for barbecue nachos... then we returned to the chalet but not before stopping at food city for jacob's birthday cookie, sparkling cider, and a yule log for the fireplace... lol, none of this, however, to be outdone by the blow up babe we happened onto in the parking lot!!!
we've had a wonderful week;
i hope you have, too!!!
much love,
dani xx
ps. on second thought, i think i might should have entitle this post, "a LOT of fall noshing..." :P
(katherine elizabeth and "mr. steve")
~@~@~@~@~@~
you may remember these photos from a past post...
or these from another...
or maybe this STORY.
~@~@~@~@~@~
now, you can put "mr. steve" with a face:)
love and God's blessings,
dani xx
ps. if you would like to visit his site, click HERE.
