Medical Equipment Gone Rancid

I was so excited when my friend let me borrow her nice wheelchair. It is lightweight and easy to wheel and easy for even my child to push me. However, it is not practical to pack a wheelchair for work everyday and pack it up to come home. My mother being my main transportation home is not big enough to load the wheelchair in her car every afternoon! So "someone special" found a wheelchair I could leave at school. It is not as special as the one from my friend but I was excited that I would have one for work and one for home. Husband packed it in my car last night so we would be ready to go this morning. Upon opening the car doors a smell hit my 8 year old son. He reported that something had died in our car. I am happy to report no one died but I could not confirm someone had not died in that wheelchair during it's previous life. It was too late to change the wheelchair out so off to work I went in my rank wheelchair. I was greeted at the door with 2 teachers who immediately smelt me. They literally ran to their rooms and got cans of Lysol and Odor Eating combinations to kill the smell. I am sure no children enjoyed breakfast this morning with my wheelchair close by. One teacher friend even had the courtesy to take the wheelchair outside to air out for an hour. Nothing seemed to work. It just smelt like the geriatric ward with old bandaids. I was afraid people would think I was not taking showers with my cast and it was me that stunk! That stinky wheelchair provided a great deal of laughter today. The laugh of the day came towards the end of the day when a child walked into my room and said, "Mrs. Roach has my grandmother come in here today?" I replied, "I don't know baby. Who is your grandmother?" He then replied, "Oh, you don't know her but it smells like her in here!" Seriously. I sprayed the noxious chair, said a silent prayer and closed my classroom door. Roach Readers, please pray for a sweet fragrant wheelchair to greet me in the morning.

Toliet and the Devil

I am back at work. Yes I am tired but my arms are going to be ripped after rolling up and down the halls at school in my wheelchiar. I can move fast until 10 am. Then I am tired. I get up way before five am to even be able to get ready before I wake the little Roaches. I am the luckiest girl alive to work where 900 kids want a hug or a smile or need to tell you a story. My first day back was rough. And my mother will hate I am telling you this story. I will also get in trouble for using the word hate. Peggy Sue does not like hate or toliet stories. Mother, forgive me. On my first day back I manage to wheel into the bathroom along with 10 other little girls for a much needed potty break. But my wheelchair won't go into the stall. In the meantime while I am trying to make this work, 10 little girls want to tell me; "Mrs. Roach I like your cast." "Mrs. Roach I voted for lime green." "Mrs. Roach what happened to your foot?" "Mrs. Roach can I push you?" I wanted to cry and say," Mrs. Roach just wants to potty!" I end up going all the way back to my room and get my crutches only to be met by 10 new little girls with 45 new comments. Needless to say not only am I not taking pain medication at work, I am not drinking liquids anymore either.
Carpool is going great except getting Car Rider 53 into the car is an event. Wheelchair, crutches, handicap mother, two small Roaches are a load. We have to have our own special loading line.
Pray for the carpool.
One more thing Roach Readers, I told you God was using this as a spiritual marker in my life. I am seeing that more clearly in ways that I can't wait to share with you sometime. God is showing me lately to pay attention to my prayer life. I pray for my kids, my husband, job, *goodness the ankle!*, and day to day activities but it becomes a routine of prayers. Until recently the devil showed up in a relationship of mine. I was devastated. And then God spoke to me and said when have you prayed my protection over that relationship lately? He is teaching me our communication needs improvement. My prayer life is changing. HE gets bigger and bigger to me each day. The more I spend time with Him the more I realize who He is! I pray He gets Bigger for you too! And as my friend Frankie would say, Peace and Blessings. Peace and Blessings.

Back to ball and work

I have a love/hate relationship with ball season. I love cheering for my kids. I love watching them enjoy something they both love to do. I love to see Tbone make a play and shake off a mistake. I love to see him proud of himself or display good sportsmanship to another team. He plays with his whole heart. But that is him, he loves big. He was the one who went into his closet and called me late at night while I was in the hospital. I hate what some parents turn ball into and the chaos they bring to the sport. I have seriously seen parents lose their religion over a tball game. Am I competitive? Absolutely. You can hear me before you ever see me at the ballpark. Do I want my kids to experience winning and losing? Absolutely. Is it torture for me to watch a close ballgame? Absolutely. I just don't want my kids to ever think their performance on the field has any weight on eternity or my love for them. I love that both my kids are currently outside pitching to each other and playing ball in our huge yard because that is what they love to do all year long.

By the way, this shortstop softball player had a mouthful of sunflower seeds during her game the other night. She was spitting them out like a major league player spits his chew. Never once missing a ball hit to her during her midgame snack. And the infamous slide made it's comeback during her last game. Getting to watch all these games is challenging at best. I am thankful for our people who help us with transportation and cheering sections.

And one last plea to my Roach Readers, I go back to work tomorrow. It will be like middle school all over again. My daddy will take me to work and my mother will pick me up. I am car rider #53. Pray for minimal pain during the work day and strength for the long days ahead. Much love.

Stamps the Chicken

Feeling like myself today.

I slept last night and appreciate all you Roach Readers and your prayers. Part of my healing time is spent on my front porch because no steps are involved.

I love my rock front porch. It is layered with quilts made by both our grandmothers and great grandmothers. Peanut must think it is awesome too

considering it is was her birthing suite and now nursery.

Daughter enjoys my great grandmother's old rockers and spends plenty of time rocking little kittens in between their nursing. We have told her she does not need to help Peanut be a mother but she is sure we are wrong. I am pretty sure this is a good indication why she is the baby and not the middle child. If I ever had another child, I don't think she would ever let me be the mother. I can use my walker and sit out on this rock porch and watch the cars go by. Occasionally friends blow their horn and people at the bank wave.

I think about these rocks and how they have stood here since the early 1900's. A definition of a rock is a firm foundation or support. God has shown me He is my support in my time of need. I love that Peanut found these rocks in her time of need to get her babies a safe secure area to be born.

This is the only kitten that has stripes like Peanut.

Daughter calls it hers.

I know I am in trouble.

Seriously, my sweet friend calls cats spineless creatures because of the way they rub up against you. I can't call this kitten anything but adorable. Stamps might not claim this one but he has to claim all five of the other kittens. I think Stamps is a chicken. I can never get a picture of him for his wanted poster I am planning on plastering at the post office. I mean I have children falling in love with his children and how does Stamps plan on supporting the Kitty Chow?

After leaving the ballpark the other night we did what all good parents do at 8 o'clock at night, drive through Zaxby's for dinner. Well who do we see in the drive through...STAMPS. Not only does he eat at my house and the post office but he eats Chicken at Zaxby's. Warning he is coming to neighborhood near you. Stamps, you big ole Chicken!

Why 4 in the morning?

"We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey." - Kenji Miyazawa

Pain is too much tonight or this morning. No doubt this ankle is recovering. The right side is where the ankle guy put in the bone from my knee. It feels like fire this morning. I would like to point my toes. When I get a cramp in my foot I can't stand up and put pressure on it, so I sit and endure. Husband says I am like sleeping with a tiger. I am currently in my recliner praying for relief at 4 in the morning. But thankful I can hear my children sleeping. Thankful I have a dog that sits as close to me as he can to offer his support. This is just a dot on my journey. Eternity is my reward.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Sometimes You Dig Deep

This is a blast from a past. A story of two old friends. This picture does not tell our story. Our journey is long. You see your first friend in life teaches you how to be a friend for the rest of your life. You remember her when you hear your daughter giggle in her room with her friend. You remember her when you tell of your Christian walk and when Christ saved you.

Sometimes you have to remember who you are and where you came from. Sometimes you have to remember old friends. This is my friend KT. I don't have a single childhood memory without her in it. We were saved at Camp Spain during Vespers one night the summer after fourth grade. We went on every softball tournament our daddies played in from here to Nashville. We took family vacations to the beach. Our mothers would say we became friends while we were in our mother's stomach. KT posted this photo on fb to remind me I could get through this current challenge. You see together we were as strong as Wonder Woman.

Sometimes you just channel your inner Wonder Woman and you take a deep breathe.

You close your eyes.

You pray.

And then the Physician's Assistant moves your ankle to 90 degrees.

Cast goes on and you are done.

Sometimes it just takes the Wonder Woman you were born to be.

P.S. The cast colors were chosen by my students at school. They got to vote on my cast color by voting on my school blog. Everyone will see me coming a mile away!

Ready for the Storm

Last night we had some bad weather and I put on facebook I was going to my safe location in my wheelchair. My cousin, Dian McCray, drew this picture of me! It provided a much needed laugh after a couple of rough days. It has been painful since coming home from the hospital. Trying to take the right medication and still being able to function and be a mother, wife, friend, etc can be a delicate balance. But I find myself painting on a smile and getting ready for the storm on a daily basis. There are moments when the smile fades and tears come but God always provides. I have family that will come in an instant. Friends that drop by with encouragement, Starbucks, milkshakes, flowers and food. Today will be a stormy day. You might remember this post. One of the most painful experiences last summer was getting my foot to 90 degrees. Today I will have to go through the same thing. A cast and 90 degrees. I am scared and anxious but I know God will get me through this and so much more. I know that Jesus will calm the storm I face today. Mark 4:35-40

Brighter news from Roach Ranch: How cute are these babies? Seriously I am not a cat person but look at that little white face on Peanuts leg. The sad news is Butter has been missing since last Tuesday. The good news is the kids have these babies to keep them entertained. Daughter is the nurse maid. She rotates them constantly so each kitten gets ample time of nursing. Son just gets upset when Peanut carries them in the mouth. Their eyes are not open yet and most look just like the Post Office Dead Beat Dad, Stamps. Last night husband went outside and said Stamps was looking lost wondering around outside. I told him to go tell Stamps his girlfriends are gone and he can speak to them when he forks over the child support.