Even A Hole in her Head Can't Stop Her

I know I've raved about my new baby granddaughter before, and I know there's a good chance you're all tired of hearing about her, but I hope you'll indulge me for a minute.You see, it was just one week ago that we found out my granddaughter had to have brain surgery. As brain surgeries go, this one isn't too bad, I guess. My granddaughter has a cyst that, so far, isn't bothering her at all, but the neurosurgeon has decided that it's growing quickly enough to be a problem in the future. Last week, he told my daughter and her husband that the baby needed surgery. Since Dad's going to be sent off by the Air Force for training in just a couple of weeks, the doctor scheduled surgery for Monday. We barely had time to catch our breath before it was time to check her into the hospital. More than once, I thanked our lucky stars that we live near one of the best children's hospitals in the nation -- maybe even the world. That didn't help a lot when we saw Mom carrying our tiny 16 pound baby down the hall in her hospital jammies, but it was the one thing I had to hang onto. I mean really! The doctor was about to drill a hole in the baby's skull! So we settled in to wait -- but we didn't have to wait long. In fact, the surgery was over so quickly that when we saw the doctor come into the waiting room, we all thought he'd run into some massive complication and had to stop operating. But the surgery went well, he said, and our big girl was recovering nicely. Mom got to go into the recovery room and hold her while she held up. Dad, Auntie Val and Grandmom stayed in the waiting room for a while longer. Then we were summoned and we met the intern wheeling the baby from recovery to her room. We didn't know what to expect, so when she saw us and smiled, we all nearly fell over. And when she held up her tiny little hand, bandaged up to hold the IV, to her Auntie Val for a high five . . . well, at least two of us lost it. But don't tell my son-in-law. He thinks I cry too easily, for some reason. My granddaughter was released the following day, and on Wednesday I drove up to the Base to spend my usual afternoon with her. I expected taking care of her to be a little difficult, you know. I thought she might be fussy. Uncomfortable. Even in a little pain. I didn't expect the difficulty to come from the fact that she was running at full power and grabbing, reaching, stretching, pulling (grandmom's hair) and playing as if she'd never even heard of the hospital. In fact, what she really wanted was for me to hold her upside-down, which is one of her favorite games. (I didn't, of course. She might not notice the hole the doctor drilled her in skull, but I can't forget it's there!) All I can say is that kids and modern medicine are amazing!

Counting Down

Quarterly Contest Winners Chosen!

Congratulations to . . .

Jackie Wisherd of La Mesa, CA

Jackie has chosen to receive a signed copy of No Place For Sin

and to

Anna Schmitz of Townsend, MA

Anna has chosen to receive a signed copy of An Echo In Time

next drawing . . . August 31

go to http://www.sherrylewisbooks.com/ to enter!

It's The Little Things

I'm so excited! I woke up this morning and found that the African Violets on my kitchen windowsill are blooming! I've loved African Violets for a long, long time -- ever since the days when Valerie was a little girl and she gave me one for every special occasion. I'm not sure what made her decide they were the flower for me but, then, I've also never really understood why she bought me a Lee Horsley poster way back when. (I thought she confused him with Tom Selleck. She tells me she thought he was James Brolin.) Anyway, in retrospect, I even became somewhat fond of old Lee. It's the mom in me, I guess. For the same reason, I love African Violets. But even though my history with the flowers is a long one, the fact that I've never actually had more than 3 at a time in my possession (and none at all in the past 10 years or so) probably tells you something about me -- keeping them alive isn't my strong suit, much less keeping them in bloom. I've tried all the usual tricks -- special soil, special fertilizer, special air, special light, special heat. Nothing has ever worked. Maybe because I kept killing them, Valerie stopped giving them to me for Mother's Day and birthdays. This year, feeling a bit nostalgic, I bought a couple for myself. I've tried tending them with loving care. I've even tried actually remembering to water them (which seems to help!) And today their happy little pink and purple blossoms are lighting up my kitchen. Yeah, I'm excited! Sheesh! You'd think I could have moved the dirty bowl from behind the flower before I snapped the picture, wouldn't you? :::sigh::: I guess it's all the excitement Now, if only I could make myself get this excited about pulling weeds out of my garden . . . Currently reading : Our Sacred Honor (Prelude to Glory, 1) (Prelude to Glory) By Ron Carter Release date: By 01 April, 1998