Sunday, January 31, 2010

What Is Important?

As usual this Sunday morning I watched Sunday Morning with Charles Osgood. There was a segment about  Thornton Wilder's play Our Town . The segment asked the question, "In an over-caffeinated popular culture dominated by the big and loud, how did a drama about unremarkable people in an unremarkable place become one of America's most produced and most beloved plays?" That question seemed to tie back to what has been happening in our life for the last month. The play is beloved because it goes back to the basics of family and friends, sickness and health. The things that touch us all.
In a crisis life boils down to the basics and one of the things that I found wasn't so important to me......Blogging. Not when I'm faced with a crisis in my family. One of my "boys" was sick and within a couple of hours of getting to the hospital he was on a ventilator in ICU. It was touch and go for about a week. He is now home after a four week stay in the hospital and he is doing okay.

This past year has been like a whack on the side of the head to remind me about what is important.....to live in the moment and take time to stop and smell the roses. I know those phrases can sound trite but right now they don't sound trite to me at all. They are more like my mantra.

When I look back at this four week period, I am inspired and oh so thankful for the way my family came together to do everything we could for our son, brother and brother-in-law. I'm thankful for the amazing Houston Medical Center and all the highly skilled doctors and nurses who took of him. I'm thankful for all the friends who took care of us and prayed for us. And bloggers, I'm thankful for you even though you didn't know what was going on. Some of you wrote to me and let me know you were concerned. I'm back in San Miguel and I'll gradually take up blogging again.

25 comments:

Bob Mrotek said...

Billie,
What is important? It is important for us to know that you and your family are all right. We were very worried about you! Thanks for checking in :)

Steve Cotton said...

Welcome back. You remain in our prayers.

Mic said...

Like the ship in "Bridge Over Troubled Waters - we're sailing right behind. Sail on Silver Girl.

So glad you had comfort to ride out your storm.

Jonna said...

I think of my blogging friends as a kind of family too. We were worried and I'm so glad to see you back even just to say hello.

All my love and healthy wishes for your family are flying north.

Hugs,

Anonymous said...

i'm so sorry to hear that your son went through such a difficult time. i'm grateful to God that he is recovering. i will keep him and your family in my prayers.

teresa in lake stevens, wa.

Unknown said...

¡Dios Billie! So sorry to hear that. Hoping your son will be fine in no time and laughing with his family, relatives and friends. We all were concern about you. You are one of the best at writing in your blog and your absence was really concerning.

Welcome to San Miguel, enjoy life, enjoy family, enjoy a rose or a carnation, enjoy the bells of San Miguel, enjoy us for we really, really enjoy you.

Best wishes to all of you!!!

Alfredo.

Leslie Harris said...

Nothing is more important than family! So glad that your son is doing better. I will keep him and your family in my prayers!

Brenda Maas said...

So sorry to hear this. Glad he is getting better, hope his recovery goes well.
Take care.

La Familia Lopez Robinson said...

Billie, I was hoping that your absence wasn't due to anything wrong. I hope your son is recovering quickly. I'm glad you could be there to help give support.
Emily

GlorV1 said...

Hi Billie. I'm so sorry to hear about your son, but am very happy to know he is back home and well now. Your family is the most important thing in your life and that comes first, before anything else. All your blogging friends, including me were worried about you. I'm really happy for you and your family. Take care and tend to the things that come first, such as family. gloria

Tina said...

Billie, you have had more than your share of frightening health events this past year.

All of our good wishes and prayers for speedy recovery and healing go out to you and your family.

I'm just happy to see you're OK and things are improving. I checked your blog every day with an increasingly growing feeling of dread that something was terribly wrong.

Welcome home!

Calypso said...

Of course it would be wrong to scold you for leaving us all out here - I admit I was one of the one's that emailed and even emailed some others to find out what was up with you and the family - certainly a nervous time and you were often on my mind.

Perhaps those quiet prayers with the general hope that you were OK helped - if nothing else - comforted us.

Glad to read your are home and the family is intact. Wishing you and yours getting back to Life is Good!

Gloria Baker Feinstein said...

I was worried... where had Billie gone? What is important is staying close to family in times of crisis, and then having your eyes opened to the fact that everyday is a good day to stay close.

Hope your son continues to improve.

Gloria

Diane said...

Billie,

I hope that your son continues to improve and that the coming year is a little easier and more peaceful for all of us.

Glad to have you back!

Diane

Unknown said...

keep your chin up kiddo! i am glad to hear that things are getting better for you all.

i have kept you in my thoughts for the last several weeks, even without knowing any specifics.

you blog is important to me and i have sorely missed it.

god bless you all. revbob

Suzanne said...

Billie, this is beautifully put and I am happy for you that the process of getting through each day turned out with both meaning for all and a happy ending.

Suzanne

billow said...

Billie's back in San Miguel, writing in her blog, some things are right in the world.

Bill O.

Deborah said...

I missed your blog and worried that something was seriously wrong. Hope everything continues to look up and you find your inspiration to blog again. In the meantime, take care of what's important!

pitchertaker said...

Happy to see you are enjoying a little normalicy -- onward and upward.

Nancy said...

Yes, Billie, everyone was worried about you... and relieved to know that things are ok now.

Love and a big hug to you.

Joan said...

As each day went by and your blog didn't change, my feeling of something being wrong increased. Now that you have resurfaced I can let out a big sigh.

I am sorry that your son was so ill and hope everything turns around for the best.

Kathy said...

Oh, I''m SO GLAD you're ok. I was really hoping that both you and Ned were healthy but I was also very worried.

I'm so sorry about your son, and while you didn't post, I'm sure you felt all our concerned energy. I hope it was helpful.

I am so relieved to know you're ok. Though, I can't imagine the heartache you were going through those 4 weeks. Glad to see you back and continued health to both boys.

Anonymous said...

Welcome Home.
Take time to rest.
You have been in my prayers.

Heather said...

I'm so sorry for everything you've been going through. I hope everyone is healthy and well now. Welcome back and your faithful readers are here.

Cheryl said...

Billie, I have missed your blogs, and was worried that something was wrong. I am so glad that your son is on the mend. Cheryl