Sunday Again and Again and Again....

Sunday Again and Again and Again...

     It turned out that we had to wait for a while for Mama to be better and wake up. We went to the hospital every day and stayed for as long as we could. Mia came home to be with us and my brother visited too when he could. Once people knew what happened Mama got a lot of cards and flowers. There was even an article in the newspaper about her. I kept all the cards for her but took some of the flowers to other floors where other patients could enjoy them. I ended up liking the hospital more after spending more time there. Everyone we met really cared about my mother and that felt good. 

     I realized that there were a lot of lonely people there at the hospital. Some people didn't have many visitors or even any visitors. I felt bad for them. When I stopped outside their door, their faces would just get lighter and brighter. I just wished that their families could see how much they needed some company. One lady whose name was Sicoro made me feel like I was the best part of her day. I like the way she scooted her wheelchair as close to me as she could and then asked me about my day so sweetly. I felt appreciated!

     The best day for me was when my mother woke up. I think they stopped giving her medicine and she just stopped sleeping and opened her eyes. She was so weak and so thirsty and so excited in a really quiet way to see me. She smiled a small smile that got bigger and bigger and said “ There’s my girl. There’s my Harley.” I was so glad that I could be there when she woke up. I would not have wanted to miss that! She slept a lot at first and really had to take things slow. She still had headaches and needed to move around a bit but not too much at first. It was going to take some time to get back to normal. And that was okay. Because she was safe now. 

    She slowly told my dad the story of what happened to her. I know that she didn't like to talk about it in front of me because it was so scary. We found out that when Joe didn't show up to pick her up Mama started walking. It was getting dark. Then someone must have come up behind her, put something over her head and knocked her down when they took her bag. When she fell she hit her head. Someone who lived in the area was walking their dog discovered her and called an ambulance. Mama said that there are people who do bad things. And fortunately there are good people too. And that she wishes that she had stayed at the retreat instead of wandering down the street looking for Joe. People make mistakes. 

     The next best day was when we finally were able to take Mama home! Red was so happy that I thought she would get dizzy running around in circles like she did. Mama was so glad to be back! She was also really happy with how well Dad and I looked after her chickens and her flowers and the house. It turned out that knowing how to do the laundry was pretty useful. And Dad and I were kind of tired of peanut butter and honey sandwiches so all the casseroles people gave us tasted mostly good. But I might try being a vegetarian for a while.

     One of the good things was that we were all talking to each other more. I told my parents about how school was really going. They talked to me about how hard it was to be a grownup sometimes and that adults need time outs too but to remember that you always had to come back and talk some more. Life wasn't perfect and we were sad about Joe but things were better. I found out that it's good to ask questions but sometimes the answers weren't easy. Also that some questions don't always have answers, at least not right away. And you should always pray, no matter what.

     Mama kept a journal while she was in the hospital and she read parts of it to me. I found out some of the details that I didn't know before:

1. Where was Mama? She was at a women’s retreat and she really enjoyed it and felt better after she was there for a few days. She meditated and prayed and slept and ate tasty food. It was a good week.

2. Where did the blood come from? Mama stepped on a nail when she was leaving for the retreat. She was in a hurry and she told Joe to tell Dad but I guess he forgot. Also she was up-to-date with her tetanus shots so it was okay.

3. Where was Joe? He took her to the retreat because she didn't want to leave a car there all week. Cars were getting vandalized which meant people were breaking in and taking stuff. What happened after that, I'm not sure. Poor Joe!

4. What else did Dad know? All Dad knew was that Mama was taking a break for a week and then she was coming home. He didn’t know that he should try to keep better track of people’s important letters. And not to leave notes with important phone numbers in his dirty clothes. He does now!

5. Should the police be called? The police are here to protect us when we need them. We should only call 9-1-1 when it is an emergency. 

6. Who else should be called? There is a Children’s Help Phone for kids to call if you are not sure about calling the police.

7. Why didn't Mama call? Mama said that she was so sorry that I didn't get my card from her the very next day after she left for the retreat. She said that if she could do it over again, she would have woken me up to say goodbye. Or found a way to call and make sure that I knew where she was. Or maybe made different plans. Mama said that adults make mistakes just like kids do and she wishes that she had done things differently. Dad said that he would listen more and try to work less. And all three of us decided to have a family night every Friday when we could chat about our week and eat pizza. Vegetarian pizza. No wait, pepperoni. Definitely pepperoni.

Got questions?

1. Kids Help Phone- There is a kid’s help phone in many countries around the world. In Canada and the U.S. the number is 1.800.668.6868

2. Learning Disability Associations- There are learning disability support and educational associations in most communities. Contact ldabc.ca in B.C.

3. Church Youth Groups- Many churches have youth groups and or Sunday School programs. Call your local church office for more information.

4. Special Olympics- There are Special Olympic programs in every province in Canada. You can find them at www.specialolympics.ca or www.specialolympics.org

5. Challenger Baseball- You can contact www.challengerbaseball.ca for information about programs near you.

6. Hospice- Most communities in Canada and the U.S. have a hospice or a palliative care ward in the local hospital. Hospices often offer bereavement support for all ages.

7. Police- In case of emergency you can dial 9-1-1. For the non-emergency number, check your community listings.