My mother against all odds

I love my mother and I love my God.
An old Norwegian saying is "Man predict, God verdict."
My mother has been predicted to be dead within a few hours over and over again for the four last years, not to speak of the four last month. 
On the picture taken a week ago, she was knocking on heaven's door again, bedridden with severe pneumonia. Gunnar had to go up in her garden and bring pictures of her flowers down to the hospital, but as you can see, he also managed to call forth a smile and a glimpse in her eye. 
Today Serina is in Sauda,visiting her. They went to the dentist, and then my mother went to bed. A few hours later Serina got a phone call from the nursing home. My mother wanted to come to Aaboedalen immediately,if not she'd call a taxi. She wanted Vienna bread and a thorough inspection of the bunads before Mai 17th, "syttende mai." They had a wonderful time together, sipping coffee  and discussing English, American and Norwegian literature, before bed time.
The ruby? Pattern on her bed sheet.

 For more interesting Ruby Tuesdays

Magical Mystery Teacher is hosting Ruby Tuesday 2 together with Gemma Wiseman

THE CHANGING HEART OF MINE

The romantic favourite poet from my youth, Yeats, wrote many a soul wrecking, heartbreaking verse. Although he was an Irish Nobel prize winner, he's listed as English in the Oxford Pocketbook of English Verse. The nationalist writing rebel, lover of wild Lady Gregory, co-founder of the Abbey Theatre, now resting under Ben Bulben.
He set words to the one thing people should not do to each other.

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

I have faced all kinds of illness, poverty, deaths, losses, scattered hopes for oh, so many years. I'm still here. A weak spot though, having my dreams mocked; how small, inferior and childish they may seem. Get off my cloud!
I admit I'm being human and vulnerable.
If I replace the word Jew with the word Christian, I can make Shylock's words in his speech to the Doge in Venice to mine.

Shylock:
I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands,
organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same
food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases,
heal'd by the same means, warm'd and cool'd by the same winter
and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If
you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?
And if you wrong us, do we not revenge? If we are like you in the
rest, we will resemble you in that.
(The Merchant Of Venice Act 3, scene 1, 58-68)

So, I'm human. I don't like to write about that. I try to do like Abraham: count stars when the sky is dark. To not see how many descendants I shall have, but simply to get things in perspective. Most of the time that is very effective. After all I have been more blessed than 90 % of the world's population. Some times I have to admit, I'm blind to that, because so have most of my equals.
My dear brother sometimes compares me to Lucy in the Peanuts. He may have a vague point there.

Lucy: We critical people are always being criticized!( Charles Schultz)

I've had some weird experiences after my two cataract operations this year. No, I don't have a 20 - 20 sight, but a 14- 9 is a vast improvement. Not only do I see better, I sit and walk differently too. Being my old grumpy self, I ask, why wasn't this done years ago? No use in looking back. I need stretching forwards. I need to enjoy the holy moments of peace even more.


"Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come." Michelangelo

I used to say, "I can read anything, if I only get it close enough. The small print in my Bible was a piece of cake. Now I have to adjust my eyes as well as my movements and my brain, where all movements begins, according to my physiotherapist. The other day I just needed a word of comfort. I looked up randomly in my Bible (which is not recommended) and as I started spelling word by word, the familiar text got a new and extended meaning. I laughed from joy.

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

¹ You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

I am not the only one seen. My mother in hospital, my brother bedridden from migraine, Serina in Dublin, Gunnar by my side, Ruby and Amrita who just lost their mothers, my dear Dad Golden, Nathan, Lidia with all her responsibilities, Debbie and Sonja, they are all seen and equally cared for by our common creator, God Almighty! Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand. I can unload, indeed, I can rest, little ant that I am.

Comfort

I admit that the first month of this year has felt like climbing a steep mountain with no oxygen left.The worst things aren't the works that can be done, but the growing problems that only God in his grace can help solving. I'm happy to tell that this day we finally can see some light in the tunnel, and also that He has been there all the time, even when we could not see Him.



What did I do apart from praying, phoning dozens of officials, travelling to and from through blizzards e.t.c.?
I comfort shopped. On the local internet buy & sell I bid for items we didn't really need, but I fancied them as well as the auction thrill. Gunnar must be the angel of the year. He has driven me around the town to collect my trophies, not saying a bad word about we needing to use our money more wisely. The red radio to the left is almost equal to Gunnar's old iconic Norwegian made radio from the early fifties. Now we have two. The analogue ground net is to be closed down next year or so, but we'll still have the icons.


This Swedish produced telephone from 1954, called Cobra is also a worldwide known icon. Dell managed to keep it off the American market for some years, but it was simply too good to be ignored. The Americans called it the Ericophone after the Ericsson telephone company. I have wanted one for a long time and now it's decorating our kitchen table.

Serina told us she had sent a little comfort thing from Dublin.
I simply could not imagine what that might be.
The Hobbit arrived Saturday, so now we can continue our loud readings, even after Serina has brought her copy with her to Ireland. Wasn't that a nice gesture?

Thank God for Skype. Even my mother has talked with Serina on Skype and she felt so relieved so learn that "Baby" was doing fine. So do we.

Magical Mystery Teacher is hosting Ruby Tuesday 2 together with Gemma Wiseman