I was able to take a mini-sabbatical in December.
My two weeks consisted of having a minor surgery, delivering MOW and taking our daughter to Utah.
I had surgery on Monday (all went well). I rested the remainder of that day & Tuesday. Then on Wednesday my daughter and I delivered MOW. Our day Wednesday started with the lady at MOW not having us down to deliver. She was subbing in for someone else and told us that we weren’t going to be able to deliver but she would get us a route for Thursday & Friday. After a bit of paperwork for Madey, I saw my name printed on a route sheet with a route assigned. After all that, we were able to deliver all three days.
Madey & I got our meals together (28) and found that our route was in an area that wasn’t known for being great. So, I called my husband and asked if he would go with us and if all was well, we would be fine to deliver without him on Thursday & Friday. We went & picked Scott up from his shop and we set out on our journey. Scott decided that he would be the one to actually get out and deliver the meals to those on our route. Madey made sure we delivered the correct meal to the correct individual and I was the navigator. With each meal delivered Scott became a little quieter until about halfway through, he came back to the truck with tears in his eyes. Madey & I both asked what was wrong and he had just been touched. He stated that he just didn’t understand how some people were just left on their own with no family. He visited with each individual and even helped load stuff in their cars.
On Thursday, Scott asked if he was going to get to go with us to deliver. This day was the same as Wednesday; he delivered, he visited, and he helped. WOW, what a tearjerker to watch. He was teaching Madey and me how to serve and love people who needed it. No matter our circumstance, we are all God’s children and He loves each one of us.
Friday when we got to MOW we found that our route had already been taken so we were given another route. This route was in a good area and on the other side of town from the first route and where Scott was. I told Scott that we would be okay, and we set out to deliver on our own. This route also had 28 stops, and all were in an apartment complex. Everything was laid out nicely. I drove as Madey wanted to be the one to deliver. We were almost done when Madey had been gone a little longer than expected. I texted her to see if all was well and she told me she was coming. When she got to the truck she stated that the lady had fallen and couldn’t get up.
I parked and had Madey call MOW as I went to see if I could help her. Long story short, I was unable to help, and we had to call 911. We stayed in the home with the lady until help arrived but by now my Madey was pretty shaken up. We didn’t know what was wrong and she had never seen anything like this. She called her dad, who came to her rescue. He delivered the rest of the meals and loved on those who he delivered to as well as he loved on Madey.
What an adventure we had taken! We are so blessed to have the things we have and to have the people we have in our lives! I appreciate the time I had to spend with Madey & Scott while we were able to serve others. We have made it a goal to serve as a family at least once a month. Tyler will join us as we prepare to serve monthly and Madey will be serving in another capacity.
The next week we took off to Utah. Our daughter, Madey, was leaving for training as she prepared to serve a mission for our church. Her mission is actually in Orlando, Florida but her training was in Provo, Utah. As we left, I didn’t feel too well but wasn’t sure if I was sick or if I was just worn out; surgery, stress, exhaustion, etc. I was very emotional as I knew that we would be leaving our beautiful girl in Utah and coming home without her. We made it to Farmington, New Mexico and stopped for the night. I still didn’t feel well but blamed it on being worn out. The next morning, we were on our way to Utah. Talk about beautiful! Mountains and snow and cold, oh my!
We finally made it to Utah and went to Salt Lake City to go see Temple Square and all the Christmas lights. It is beautiful there. It was freezing. Scott kept telling me he was starting to feel bad too. We ended up rushing through Temple Square and leaving, heading to Provo for the night. About 10:30 pm, Tyler tells me that Scott is burning hot. I found a walk-in clinic that was open so we both went. We both had the flu, in Utah! The doctor gave us a prescription and told us to go home and rest for 2-3 days. We both laughed and told him that home was in Texas. We got our medicine and decided that we would need to stay an extra night before heading home the next day.
We took Madey to the MTC (missionary training center) the next day, December 18th (one week before Christmas). We said our good-byes with many tears. We went back to our hotel and rested as much as we could. Neither Madey or Tyler got sick! What a blessing! Scott and I rested the remainder of that day so that we could begin our journey home. We had several loved ones offer to fly to Utah to drive us home. We felt that with a little rest we would be able to make it home on our own. The next morning, we hit the road. We drove straight through without stopping.
It was a long drive home with a lot of tears still (actually there are still a lot of tears, but they are happy tears). We know our girl in where she needs to be. She is happy, she looks great and sounds wonderful. She is now in Florida. She is so excited to be able to serve the people in Orlando.
I am truly touched by the opportunity I was given to be able to take this time to serve others and spend precious time with my family. What a great company we work for! I am blessed, not only by a great company but also by little tender mercies from my Father in Heaven. I know He is aware of me and how my eyes and heart have been opened to see that. Mahatma Gandhi said, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!