Mmm life
Well, I wasn’t going to post anything about this, but I read something that got me thinking. I should post this now so that I remember the day and I remember that it happened. Yeah, I’m talking about Uncle Craig’s stroke/seizure/heart attack.
I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen anything like it period, especially not in church, and yet it seemed so familiar. Like I had seen it happen before, but I haven’t. Sort of like deja vu, except not quite. I won’t go into detail (I’ve heard the story repeated enough for one day, thank you), but it all happened so fast. One minute Jeremy’s preaching, and the next, the whole church is on their feet, some screaming, some gasping, some calling the police. I look over and there’s Uncle Craig gasping for air. That’s that picture that keeps haunting me, popping up in my head and making me cringe.
I didn’t freak out like everyone else. I don’t think I stood up once, not until Mama told me to go in the fellowship hall. I remember looking around the sanctuary. The whole congregation was huddled in various groups all praying. The youth group had one huddle. There was a group at the altar. There was a group in front of me. I’ve never seen anything so amazing. It was amazing to think that our first response would be to autimatically go into prayer. Our meaning the rest of the church. I tried to pray. But all I could get out was “God help us.” I couldn’t cry either. The only thing I could do was sit there and stare as my heart beat uncontrolled in my chest.
I can remember a few things that crossed my mind. The main thing being, ‘that could have been Daddy.’ And that terrifed me. I also thought about Chris. Uncle Craig is so good for him. And then I thought about how I’m taking a CPR course. I figured that if I ever got in a situation like that, I could handle it. I just never thought it would be so soon.
I stayed at Memaw and Pepaw’s all day. Luckily Nana and Sadie were there, so I didn’t have to go it alone. You know I’m not very good at handling situations. That’s where I wish I had some of my dad’s genes. He always knows what to do in tough situations. Anyway, we played cards and laughed and it wasn’t a big deal. We weren’t all sitting around crying, that’s for sure. Memaw and Pepaw had lots of visitors.
Before I left, though, I got a feeling (probably from God… no, most certainly from God) that I should go talk to Pepaw before I left. So I did. I told him we were leaving and when my parents were coming back. I could tell it meant a lot to him that I came. Then I held his hand and told him that I loved him.
Life can be so crazy, you know. It’s amazing to think that this morning the only thing I was concerned about was the fact that my skin was awful and my hair didn’t want to behave. Mmm life.
Ooda lolly ooda lolly. Golly what a day.
xoxo,
Daisy S.
