Polka Dots & Party Hats

I am a very fortunate person. I know that. On many, many levels. I have a life filled-to-the-brim with blessings. Making a list of those blessings would require a very lengthy piece of paper. Indeed. Today I went thru my closet conjuring up an outfit to bring happiness. The pink polka dot blazer hadn't had an outing recently. It impressed me as the perfect 'weight' for this in-between sort of fall day..... and so out the door I sashayed in my dotted splendor, certain to include some stripes, just for fun.

Traffic was non-existent and mine was only the second car in the lot??? Oh yes, it's Veteran's Day. I bounced down the stairs at Children's Hospital to find an especially animated director awaiting my arrival. Hilary was beaming from ear-to-ear. "We have a surprise for YOU -- and I just can't wait to see your face!!!" Well, let me tell you that's the sort of greeting that makes an impression.

Singing with my wee wittles I forgot her greeting and just enjoyed the wees and then soon enough came the tots. By the time my third crew, the hearty toddlers, arrived I was into my little morning song-fest groove. Grateful for the energy that children exude. Delighted to share in their spark plug enthusiasm. Then the most amazing thing happened. In walked Haily. In PINK POLKA-DOTTED splendor!!! She was dressed as my "mini-me." Complete with striped accent cuffs. Debbie and a wanna-be-Debbie. Oh happy day.

We laughed. We sang. We danced. We posed a picture.

I counted my blessings as I drove to their second building. What a great world to be a part of..... a world of bright chartreuse polka dots and happy colorful confections of silliness. What a treasure to be able to inspire such joy, to receive such joy, to spread such joy. Haily's class walked into the large muscle room chanting, "Debbie Day, Debbie Day, Debbie Day!" And I have to pinch myself to store this memory in the sacred memory-portion of my brain.

Tomorrow I'll share some pictures of the rest of the morning. The unveiling of my picture book to classrooms of children who already love me. That's something to look forward to -- tomorrow. (The sun'll come out tomorrow......)

Upon arriving home my phone rang. It was my dear sweet BCO/IRL friend Saint. We hadn't spoken in a week. She'd been in & out & into the hospital, suffering from horrific coughing jags, lingering flu symptoms, and a battery of side effects from the tumors that are taking over her body, destroying her blood at will, while robbing her of communication in the process.

I've called every day leaving a dingy thinking-of-you message. Seeing her name in the caller I.D. seemed to stop the world from revolving. She gave me a quick run-down of her latest experiences and then concluded with, "you need to understand, this is the beginning of the end." She went on to tell me that her husband was on his way to get their daughter from high school, to bring her to the hospital.

In my head, since we were there together ten days ago, I've known that it's impossible for the human body to suffer this sort of damage and emerge. Nothing short of a miracle would change the progression blasting thru her body and it appeared that miracle was not presenting itself sufficiently nor efficiently.

Still. It's a whole different thing to have head-knowledge than heart-knowledge. I told her that we loved her. I told her that we were proud of her. I told her that we'd share lots of stories. I told her "good bye."

It is an unusual day that includes both unbridled laughter and wracking sobs. It is an unusual message that mixes both extremes into one post. Yet that somehow seems all the more fitting. All the more like the Saint-and-Faith show. We've had such great times together. We've laughed and we've cried. We've known ups & we've known downs. We've had polka dots and stripes all in one snappy outfit. We've been blessed with loving families. We've been blessed with lives of faith. We've been blessed with the most wonderful of friendships. We've really been fortunate to let each other into one another's hearts.

My dear friend Saint would get such a kick out of this picture. She would laugh great peals of rolicking laughter. She would rejoice with me that out of all the nonsense in my entire closet to select from -- today I would go off to school wearing pink polka dots. She would give me a great big bear hug and say, 'see how the angels have a sense of humor?' She'd call it a "God-wink," that the two of us were dressed alike, from opposite sides of town. She would tell me that all is well. And then she'd say, "What more evidence do you possibly need?"