Gorgeous Day

What a beautiful day we had today as we drove across Arkansas, Oklahoma and now the Texas panhandle. The temperature was in the high 60s and the sun was shining bright. The promise that spring, followed quickly by summer, will become a reality fostered hope in me that these old bones will dry out and warm up eventually.

The Lord has blessed us so much in our travels as we've tiptoed through and around all of the major storms thusfar, suffering only a few short segments of time where ice and snow got the upper hand while we drove. I am so looking forward to the changing of the seasons so that the scenery we are seeing now clothed in winter garb, will soon display the new growth and colors that accompany the spring season. The sunrises and sunsets seem to already be ramping up for the unfolding of spring and summer. I heard a trucker say today, "Well, if you've seen one sunset, you've seen them all." It made me sad. Will I become jaded to this kind of majesty? The sunset we watched play out its entire life before us over Texas tonight took my breath away. I hope that each sunrise and sunset I witness will leave me breathless for a very long time to come.

Statue of Liberty

We picked up a load from Jersey City, New Jersey this morning. While the trailer was being loaded Shannon and I walked to a bluff overlooking the harbor where the Statue of Liberty is located. Even though we could only get pictures from her "backside" it was still a real thrill to actually see her in person. The frustration with driving truck is that we can't take opportunities like these to visit and explore. The ferry that you board to take to Ellis Island was less than a mile away but we didn't have the time or anyplace to "store" or anyone to "babysit" our truck and trailer to take advantage of it. We have so many places we want to come back to and spend time at, but it will have to wait until we have a vehicle that is smaller than our present setup. 

Dangerous Profession

I now realize how true it is that as an adminstrative assistant, the most dangerous part of my job, was actually getting to work in my car. I've been amazed at how many accidents we've witnessed or driven past in the few months we've been sitting in this big rig. Last Thursday, just outside of Flagstaff, AZ, where the wind was blowing fiercely, we witnessed a construction site trailer (not much weight involved) being pulled by a semi truck, just blow over. When we drove past, the wheels were still turning on the trailer. The truck was heavy enough not to have followed suit and the trailer wasn't heavy enough to pull the truck over with it, either.

Today we were stopped on I-40 in New Mexico for about an hour. The reason we discovered as we drove past it was a car had gone through the guardrail and rolled down an enbankment, killing the driver. I'm not sure why the police did this but they just left his body on the road, without covering him with anything. The image will remain with me for a very long time, I think. 

This is a dangerous profession. Last year at Watkins-Shepard, they had three "suicides by semi" where a car ran head-on into one of their semis. One semi driver died because of this, all of the suicide drivers succeeded in their destruction quest. It doesn't seem fair to be used as a tool for their means to their end. 

Falling asleep at the wheel is the most prevalent reason for accidents. This is what I worry about. It only takes one day of having trouble sleeping and you don't have the opportunity to make up the sleep. Falling asleep behind your computer is one thing, which I've done before as an admin, but if you fall asleep behind the wheel of these creatures you may not get a chance for a "do over."

Shannon and I are doing better at sleeping while the other is driving, but it is still hard, and I think it always will be. There are some roads we drive on where the entire cab feels like it is going to shake apart and trying to sleep during those times I've found to be almost impossible. I like to think that we have a special kind of protection, though. I have an image in my head of several angels riding on top of our rig, hanging on to the sides, and maybe there is room for one inside the cab who help us keep it all together. I'm not saying that we shouldn't do all we can to be professional drivers, but I do believe that as children of God, just as human parents try to do whatever they can to protect their children, God will keep us safe as we drive the 20,000 plus miles each month, at least until our number of days on earth has been fulfilled, and we join Him in heaven. What a day that will be.

Callie Grace Pence

Our youngest granddaughter has been officially diagnosed with cerebral palsey. It isn't a surprise to us or her parents, we've known that this was probably the case for quite some time now but some how having it "official" made my heart skip a beat or two. I was in the operating room when Callie Grace was swiftly and abruptly brought into this world almost two months premature. She wasn't breathing and the doctors and nurses worked frantically on this 3 pound miracle for quite some time. Even my daughter-in-law's anethesiologist left her side to try and assist with Callie's respiratory needs. Finally, after what seemed to me to be an eternity, Callie Grace's lungs filled with air and she let out that cry that said to all who heard it that she wanted her opportunity to live and make her mark on this world.

Cerebral palsey is caused by bleeding in her brain at birth, probably a very simplified explanation for something complex. There are many different kinds and severity of CP. At this point it looks as though Callie's issues are centered on her lower extremities. She is over two years old and only walks with the aid of a wrap-around walker. The doctor predicts she will walk on her own and eventually may even be able to run, but he also said she would probably always have a little "swagger" to her gait as many people with CP have.

So, officially, she is handicapped. That word hit me hard. I have never thought of Callie as handicapped. I had to think hard about what it meant to be handicapped. Sure, it will take her longer to learn to walk and you may always be able to tell that her body doesn't function fully as intended, but handicapped?  Hardly!  Callie Grace's will to keep pace with her siblings is a strong motivater for her to keep trying. Callie will succeed in whatever she wants to do because she will have learned at such an early age that not everything comes easy. That there are more roads than one that lead to the desired destination. That trial and error is a friend and a foe. That disappointment is the resting point before trying it all again, and again, and again. And try again she does and will. Her body, which when you remember will only encase her spirit for a blink of an eye, will not hold her captive forever with its limitations.

Callie Grace, handicapped?  Don't you believe it!  Not for one minute.