Sometimes I’m just not sure how I want to start a post. But this video seems as just as good as any.

So I’m sending this one out to all my friends & family back home, all the blog friends I’ve yet to meet and the lurkers out there who just like to read along {{waving hello}}…but this one is especially for my dear friend, Lisa.

(It’s her favorite song. And I know she’ll be singing along…love you, Lis.)

Maybe you’ve seen this one a thousand times, or maybe like me you’re a little behind the curve & are just now seeing it. But Roger Ridley’s version of this song really helped push the Playing for Change movement. Essentially an amateur music producer stumbled on Roger, recorded his version of Stand by Me, then traveled the world asking other street musicians to sing along. You can read more about it here if you like. And while I’m getting off-track, let me just say you have to hear their version of A Change is Gonna Come.

But what I need your help with tonight is another matter entirely.

My mother has had a serious fall this weekend that has put her in the hospital & left her with a broken right hip. She’ll require surgery (which is on hold at the moment while she fights a 102 fever) then a 4 to 6 week stay in a nursing home for rehab before heading back home.

For those of you not familiar with my mom, she had a stroke back in 2003 that left her partially disabled. So suffice it to say, a fall is never a good thing…especially for someone who already struggles on a daily basis.

But my sister & I are in the process of screening nursing homes. She was handed a list of 24 from the local social worker & has managed to narrow it down to 9 or 10. Obviously cost & insurance are major factors, but what I need your help with are the questions to ask. We just want to make sure we’re thinking of everything there is to consider in order to find the right place for her.

For now, I’m still in Korea. But I’m planning to make the trip home in time to help her transition from the nursing home back to her house. As you can imagine, everything’s kinda up in the air right now and turning on dimes. So I won’t know when to book the trip until things finally start to settle down & we see how she does with rehab.

But any help, advice, direction or words of support you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Much Love,
Jennifer

Thank you to everyone who replied & emailed well wishes for my mom.

She made it through surgery without issue & will be in the hospital another day or so.

It’s because she’s on blood thinners – her levels have to be monitored closely to prevent another stroke. But then she’ll be heading home where my sister will stay with her for the first several days.

The doctors are trying to hammer, nail, pin & plate her shattered radius back together.

(That would be the big bone in her arm, in this case her right arm – her bad arm.)

That’s because a year before Eric & I met, my mother had a stroke that left her right-side mobility significantly diminished – so any injuries to the left side aren’t good.

And being so far away from home on days like today can be almost unbearable.

You just can’t imagine the guilt that comes with living half-way around the globe leaving your sister to handle all the major & minor emergencies – not being able to be there for your mom.

[wiping away tears]

So when times like these come around, I find myself looking through the few old family photos I have that I scanned into my computer.

These three always make me smile….and I’ll tell you why.

It’s circa 1975….when polyester is king, Captain & Tennille have the number one hit ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ and my favorite things in the world are puppies & Rocky Road ice cream.

[smile for the camera!...click]

Ahh…the loving family.

There’s me, in the back, the smart-alec tomboy with the pug nose & pixie haircut because Mom hated brushing out my curls…

Erin, my sister, the cute flirty one trying to show a big too much thigh for the camera just to see if she can get away with it…

My Dad, with the ‘can we just get this thing done’ look on his face…

And Mom, with her ‘why did I think this would be a good idea’ smile.

[ok, this time everyone look at the camera - big smiles!...click]

Hmm…well, I obviously must be daydreaming about Rocky Road ice cream or puppies - after all, they were my favorite things in the world.

The flirt has gone completely out of Erin to be replaced with staunch, good Christian propriety & a penitent pouty face.

(I think Mom fussed at her.)

Dad…with out-stretched tongue…who obviously heard me rambling on about how good some Baskin Robbins Rocky Road ice cream would be right about now.

And Mom…with the ‘oh, if you all don’t straighten up right now you’re going to get it’ face packaged perfectly behind her sly smile.

[ok, one last time...let's everyone look at the camera...BIG SMILES!....'click']

SUCCESS!

Well, sorta.

I’m smugly savoring the victory of having just tricked Mom & Dad into taking us to Baskin Robbins after this…and in realizing how all-powerful I am, am trying to figure out a way to use my powers to get a puppy.

Erin with the almost smiling, but hopeful face  is starting to think about the Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream (her favorite thing in the world) she’s going to get if she keeps her skirt down.

Dad who has realized how much film the photographer has burned up & is calculating the cost plus the cost of ice cream and is vowing to never take another family picture.

And Mom…who’s gone from frustration to desperation in the span of 2 minutes praying to God that this one turns out so she can escape this yet another embarrassing family moment with some kind of dignity intact.

It makes me smile.