You remember the last good joke you heard? Do you notice the difference of your reaction from the first time you heard the joke from the second? I am talking a doozy of a joke that you can't wait to repeat and even when telling it you chuckle because you know the punchline. Well God decided to share a joke with me - we'll call it Friday the 14th :) Oh how God chuckled throughout the day knowing the punchline. I however nervously tittered throughout the day with a few tears springing to my eyes as I "waited" with anticipation for the punchline. Let's see if you appreciate the punchline. . .
Now I have been recently diagnosed with diabetes and I am treating the diagnosis as not a horror show tragedy but a wake up call. So like a good girl I have been to the doctor and following up as requested. I had labs scheduled for a quick draw of blood after fasting to see where my body stands now: Cholesterol, Iron Levels, and so on. No problem I pass the hospital on my way to work. I'm in, I'm out, and bada bing on the way to work. Oh but see I did not realize that I had a day of fun planned. As part of my follow up my doctor requested that I drop off my blood sugar numbers from the previous week and half to see how I am doing. I drop off the numbers and found out that I was early to my lab appointment as I was suppose to be there where I dropped off the numbers. I thought I was suppose to go across the street. Bonus for me - Today is my lucky day (God must have just roared at that thought!) The receptionist tells me to take a seat and I will be called shortly. Tick tock goes the clock over and over - the minutes slowly tick away. Well here comes ten o'clock the time I am suppose to BE AT WORK. Thirty minutes have passed and still no one has called my name. And just as I am about to stand up to see what is going on a technician walks out and calls my name and another person's. I think. . . It was quietly spoken, and the technician did not come into the waiting room, just the hallway and I have a semi popular last name. I go to the spot that I think I heard my name. Nobody there and the doors have shut to the lab. I look around questioningly - like a lost puppy and a woman who looks like she means business comes out of a different doorway looks me up and down - I must have passed the test of someone who looks like they are ready to have blood drawn - And barks out "Sullivan?" Yes ma'am reporting for duty ma'am. Let's do this and then an older lady catches up to us and follows us. And then we both go into the lab room passing the lab waiting room. I think "Oh, maybe I was supposed to wait there. Maybe that's what the receptionist meant when she said "have a seat". She probably meant " go around these cubicles, take a right , walk down the hallway, go through the double locked doors and take a left and have a seat in the lab waiting area." I just miss such obvious directions. I have never had a double date when I have had blood drawn. Not a huge fan I must say. I am a bit nervous to have my own blood drawn (this may be because it usually takes several attempts, a couple of insults due to small, wiry, twisty veins, and a few bruises). The other lady gets to go first so I get to be extra nervous. I'm from the North where we tend to be conservative and pride ourselves on letting everyone have their privacy unlike the tendency in the South to be open and personable, and share personal details. I am trying to look at the floor, the ceiling, look "friendly" but not nosy. She gets to leave quickly. And then my turn. But wait to keep things moving they call back another person. No problem. Oh but it is an elderly lady with a daughter as her escort. A feisty daughter who starts to get into a passive agressive verbal battle with the technician. Awesome. Please upset the lady who is about to draw my blood. Thank you. Wait, what is the technician grabbing. A cup? Oh no no no! I was not told about this part. I am suppose to just have blood drawn. Nope a urine sample too. Yippee! This Friday morning is getting better and better and I am already ten minutes late to work plus the drive. I hurry out of the clinic after my morning of fun. Get to my truck and turn the key. Roar of engine oh wait. No that is the sound of nothing. Turn the key again. Yeah that is not the sound of a running engine. Okay I will call hubby. Cell phones are great. No answer. I'll try again. Nope still no answer. Keep it together Suzy! Alright I will walk home as I don't live too far. I drive by the hospital everyday and count it three blocks away. In reality it is closer to a mile and half. A little morning jaunt, with my purse, my lunch, my sweatshirt, and my bright blue bandage over where blood was drawn. I was grateful to my shoe choice as they were canvas tennis shoes and not dress shoes. Look at me still smiling. And I even laughed with God. How fun I am getting my work-out this morning. Did I mention it was a fasting blood draw? So I am starving and walking home, I reach my hubby on the phone half way home - he is getting ready for work and it will be faster for me to walk home then him to finish getting ready and grab our son and drive to pick me up. I agree (in a mumbly sort of way - the novelty of being assertive and seizing the opportunity is dwindling away with each passing step.). I reach home and greet my favorite guys. Who my son laughed in delight, my husband laughed, (God must have already shared the punchline with them) and I did that half smile/half cry. We hop in the car and check on the truck. My hubby is able to jump start the truck. Yay hubby. And we test out his handi-work. We turn off the truck and try to restart it. No go! Okay we jump the truck again, victory! But both of us work about fifteen miles away from home - interstate wise- not really safe to drive a vehichle that requires a jump start to get moving. We get the truck home. We then drop our son off for daycare and then drive my hubby to work and then I turn around to go to work.
God was enjoying how he was building the punchline that he added a couple hours of extra fun. As I was checking back in with work running close to three hours late - FANTASTIC! I find out I have three days worth of work sitting on my desk. At this point - this simply can't be true. I knew my boss was joking. Except she wasn't laughing. I got off the phone and was done. I no longer carried the smile on my face, or the nodding of the head like good one. No in my heart I felt like how a ticklefest goes one second to long, the teasing one time too many, or the prank that has too much clean-up. Moments that were meant for levity that go so wrong in the blink of an eye because reality became too much. That workload was the straw that broke the camel's back. Because I had been looking forward to three hours of uninterrupted time at home by myself before this day started. Three hours of no cleaning, no listening for the baby, or helping my husband. But just some quiet me time. And when I heard that work announcement - poof the dream floated away.
I arrived at work - late, knowing what awaited for me. Yet, I was in a bit of denial. I was hoping there had been a misunderstanding, a little stretch of the truth, or even that the work fairy had waved their magic wand. But no, there was that much work to do (Secretly I still hoped to sneak out for a little hour or two of peace and quiet at home). Here we go. My office was phenomenal coming to my rescue but the hours flew by and my dreams faded away. I worked up to the minute that I had to leave to pick up my son and then drive fifteen miles out of the way to pick up hubby. And finally, home. Sweet sweet home.
What's the punchline? Well the night before my hubby and I prayed the same prayer. Our little one was under the weather, tugging his ears and running a fever. We know he is teething but weren't sure if he was doing these things in response to that. Or not feeling well. As mommy do I keep him home and stay with him? Or send him to his grandma's. So the prayer we both said was "God please keep our son healthy. And make it "PERFECTLY CLEAR" what Suzy should do with her day". Get it? God never gave me a moment of doubt about where I was supposed to be. Our son slept soundly throughout the night and woke up with no fever so I didn't have to worry about if I should keep him home or not. From the minute I woke up until the minute I got home I was on autopilot. I had choices in my day but not really. I could have waited at the hospital and not walked home. But I possibly could have missed my hubby as his cell doesn't receive all calls. We could have driven the truck but wouldn't know what would happen. My choices left little doubt what to do and where to be. I told you God laughed. But then he knew the punchline. Now I can tell the story with a smile because I too know the punchline and its a doozy.
May your HealthFULL Journey be filled with punchlines and laughter. 'Til we meet again. . .
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