Dear Reader:

A few days ago I saw Mandy adding this linen towel when she came over… and immediately it struck me ” I really AM …IN MY HAPPY PLACE!” Curiously I asked her where it came from… should have known… Doodle’s Christmas bag to me!

When everything was happening so fast a few weeks ago, I was so bewildered, weak, puzzled, and honestly… scared!

And the thought of going to a hospice medical ” facility” sounded rather cold and so unfamiliar. But I was anxious to take the burden off Mandy and John since I was still mostly immobile and the Medicare nurses and therapists coming in several times a week was just one more adjustment for everyone!

But now in hindsight… God was leading me to my new “HAPPY PLACE. ”

For years on end I always ( in my posts) referred to my 40 year old home 🏡 on 100 Rainbow Road as my Happy Place. I loved my neighborhood, my street, my gardens, and most of all my neighbors… especially Vickie!

And then it all vanished… ( in an instant) and I was feeling so badly I didn’t have the energy to fully take it all in …while it was happening. I couldn’t sit up by myself without wobbling with dizziness. My ” children” were going with me to my oncologist visits which steadily went downhill and had to be followed by two hours of IV lab fluids pumping into me each visit. I was nauseated and repelled by even the idea of food or eating!

It was time to find a place for me and my one criteria was to be near them… Summerville was gone and looking for a place in Mt Pleasant brought Tommy and Walsh to The Palms. They told the guide that their mother loved gardens and flowers.

God Wink… the one apartment that was the only one readily available that day…was the apartment with the French Doors leading out to the beautiful open courtyard ( instead of an enclosed apartment with no openings ( just a wall) to the courtyard. Now what are the chances of that happening?

And the ” children” including their wonderful spouses ( my other children) set about decorating it to surprise me… I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and since then have made new friends including all the medical staff who come in, along with the wonderful gals who bring meals, take out trash and give me my medicine… never a dull moment.

So on this Christmas Day…while attending our family Christmas brunch gathering and gift giving to the grandkids … there is no doubt… God lead me to my new Happy Place with the extraordinary help from family and friends … including You!

Saturday night when we went to Seacoast as a family for the annual special Christmas Eve program… along with the beautiful Christmas music that we all sang along to… there was a short opportunity to light little crosses symbolic of laying down our burdens to GOD and His SON .

Rutledge nodded at me and holding hands we both did relinquish our doubts and burdens by lighting a cross. A very memorable moment from Christmas 2023.

So until tomorrow… a Christmas lesson learned this year… Wherever God leads us will be our Happy Place on Earth… just let go and follow!

* I want to leave a beautiful thought Jo Dufford left with me on the phone yesterday…

Remember: ” You will never look into the eyes of anyone whom God doesn’t love… but then after doing so… go yourself to your mirror and take a deep glance saying to yourself… ” YOU are LOVED!”