September 6, 2011 5:01 a.m.

One day. One minute, can make such a huge difference.

The reason I haven’t blogged much is not because nothing has been going on.  On the contrary, much has been going on.  Too much for me to be able to reflect upon well enough to post to this blog.  All kinds of emotions, both sad and happy.  A beloved Sunday School teacher died from cancer.  An eight year old boy also died, from cancer.  A homeschooling mother of eight finds out she has had a relapse.  And then, there is the fact that we are only a few days from our annual family vacation.  That we have been excited about it, spending a good part of the weekend preparing for the trip and converting our van to be a camper again.  That Self-Reliant Man just celebrated a birthday this weekend.  That our children are challenged, and thriving, in their orchestras.  That they were part of a wonderful Master Class (in the violin) yesterday.  And then there is my exercise regimen.  And our Aldi experiment.  And the passing of a beloved English Mastiff, the dog of a bloggy friend, of whom we have been online fans. And family and friends who were without power for days on account of hurricane Irene.

Yes, so much has been going on that I haven’t been able to write about it.

And then, tragedy struck our family yesterday.  It involved Self-Reliant Man’s mom.  You see, she was eating a Labor Day hot dog in the dining room of her assisted living facility yesterday when she choked.  Nobody on the staff had the sense to try the Heimlich Maneuver.  Never mind the posters on the doors of the kitchen and dining area.  Instead, they did CPR.  We don’t know how many minutes she went without oxygen but she is now in ICU on life support.  Doctors are monitoring her for any sign of consciousness or improvement, but as of yesterday evening things were not looking good.  We are still in disbelief.

Where do I begin to write about this?  Right now, she needs prayer.  For a miracle?  For the Lord to be merciful?  I have no doubt that she is saved and where she will be going.  I am just worried about her getting trapped between here and heaven.

Saturday she called Self-Reliant Man to wish him a happy birthday.  She has had a difficult life; lots of health problems, lots of ups and downs.  But lately she has been up, in a good way.  She has been doing really, really well.  Self-Reliant Man, after hanging up the phone the other day, told us that she was doing really great, as good as ever.  She had just gone out to eat with friends, and had a good time.  She wanted to know all about how we celebrated Self-Reliant Man’s birthday.  She was really thrilled with our children’s involvement with youth orchestra and with Chips’ being Concertmaster.  She had asked him to send her a video of the first performance.  She had just had cataract surgery on one eye, and was about to return to get the other eye done, and she was happy about the results.

In my opinion, our children are way too young to not have a grandma.

I don’t know.  I just don’t know.  I cannot sleep.  I am worried about the outcome in the next few days.  Praying for the Lord’s wisdom, peace, and mercy.