Oh Elle!  I guess you need to go out, right?  Sometimes it takes a dog’s whining to give me the courage to try to move off the couch when my body is shaking involuntarily because of this illness.  And I appreciated it today.  In the midst of what would be 23 of 24 hours of this crap-ola-ski (again, Polish) I became immobilized by fear:  will these symptoms never end?  Somehow while standing on the back patio tossing the ball for my little buddy, they stopped.  How’d she do that?  Must have been puppy love.  

However, she was not outdone by my Stevers earlier today.  I had showered and drove to church a little late this morning to meet my hubby who had left eariler; that’s the one hour missing in the 23 of 24 hours noted above.  Sure was lovely worshipping together with Steve holding me a little closer than usual.  (He had seen what the morning was like earlier as he brought me breakfast in bed then watched it sit next to me until there was a break in the symptoms to enjoy it a bit later.)  We chatted with a few friends after church.  The sounds of so much activity started to get to me so much as a headache emerged and intensified, that I couldn’t even speak clearly before blurting out that I “had to go.”  Guess Steve thought I was driving myself home.  

Driving home?  Not exactly.  I sat in my truck (my own cool 4×4), as the shaking began and increased.  There’s a new version of these “tics” that has begun since the 80-hour hiatus earlier this week:  resting may not extinguish the episode.  Just move and WHACK!, a gross motor anomaly with a gutteral utterance oozes out.  Lord have mercy!  Didn’t know what I was going to do as dialing the phone to Steve wasn’t possible yet.  Then I saw him in my rear view mirror, getting into his vehicle gratefully parked within view.  I hit the speed dial on my cell and he answered! Yeah God!  Before long we figured out that he would be driving me home in his car.  So he transferred me and my stuff over there, moved my truck to a better spot in the parking lot, and off we went home.  There was a Missions Night tonight at church and something would surely work out to pick it up when we returned later.  

Not exactly.   Never got out of bed or off the couch in time to join Steve at church.  The tics would not stop!  So I turned on the tube.  I used to like watching golf on T.V. as a kid and 2 of the 6 stations we get were golf.  Opted for the McKales Navy re-runs instead.  All day long, McKales Navy until a better choice came along . . . and that option was my sweet dog calling to me.  Needing ME!  Okay little buddy, I’m here for you!  So I say, “Go Elle!” 

By the way, you folks out there know that I always say, “Go Steve,”  usually along the bank of a river as my River Bear races by in his Stellar SE Ultra kayak extraordinaire.  Stevers is my hero first and foremost in this life.  Today after returning home from church, you changed your clothes into super cyclist mode and rode your bike back to church in the 90+ degree heat to rescue my abandoned Frontier.  Wow!  Another “Goooooooooooo Steeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeve” is in order!  Then when you are gone, it’s, “Goooooooooo Elleeeeeeeeeee!”    I am richly blessed!

And thank you Lord, for your grace today.  It’s a different kind of life for me right now but not without it’s own sweet moments.  Yes, like having Jesus with skin on and, er, fur on.  :J