I wanted to have this one recorded. I pulled out my journal last night and found I had not written in it since the end of 2008. That is when I began blogging.
I type faster than I write so sometimes you are the lucky winners of things I want recorded that you really don't care about. Or believe. It is nice that you have the freedom to hit the red x button at the top right of your screen at any time. :) As Mel Gibson, the unofficial official mascot of Scotland once said..."Freedom!"
(Speaking of Scotland, I want to go back there with my new camera)
The strangest thing happened to me on last Tuesday night that I absolutely feel I would be remiss if I did not share it with my bloggy journal.
Tuesday was a day full of company. I have African guests staying here. I had two additional guests, Tiel and Morgan, who were driving through and staying the night. The Boy is sick. Heater broke. Mr. Fun is rarely home. Tom is on the verge of passing away..... you get the drift. It was one of those strange days if you saw it on a movie you would say "This movie was so stupid. Nothing like that really happens in real life." But it really was.
I sincerely thought about running away. I really wanted to. But I didn't. Too grounded. Too responsible. Too hospitable.
Since I couldn't run away, I did the next best thing. I vented on the Facebook to all 432 of my closest friends. Like vomiting and someone holding your hair back from your mouth for you. It felt better.
So, when Tiel and Morgan arrived Tuesday evening, later than planned, we had had plans to get BBQ at some gas station. But it was too late. We had plans to go to Liberty Jail (a historic LDS Church site) but would only make the last tour. What is a girl to do?
Morgan isn't really practicing Mormonism for now, so when said she wanted to go on the Jail tour, we went. No dinner first. No big plans. No notice.
Not really how I like to roll. Once, one of my sister's in law said I won't spend $20 if it isn't on the calendar first. She is basically right.
Liberty is 10 miles away. I only go on the tour when guests are in town, so it isn't something you would normally catch me on a Tuesday night doing.
When we got there, there was a group in front of us so we had to wait out in the lobby. The next couple turns of events will surprise you. I wish you had been there to see it.
I guess the bottom line is that that day I think there was a God and He loves me. The Mormons call them "tender mercies" as noted from the scriptures. Other folks call them "coincidences."
Out of the tour group in front of us walked a woman who was answering her cell phone.
Pam.
Pam is always so kind and so sweet. We used to go to church a long time ago together. We aren't social friends. We don't lunch, do movies, or shop. We don't exchange Christmas cards. We just see each other when we bump into each other once or twice a year and have that warm feeling together for moment.
When she saw me sitting there, she was so surprised. I could see it. Tiel could see it. Morgan could see it. She rushed to hug me (a non-surprising Pam move). "Wait here!" and she ran off to her car (a surprising Pam move).
She came back with a tupperware bowl of little cookies. "These are for you."
At first I thought she meant "I- had- these- cookies- laying- around- in- the- back- of- my- car. I- like- you- Val- so- I- figured- hey!- what- the- heck?- I- will- give- them- to- Val" kind of "these are for you" statement. She didn't.
No. They were for ME. Me, as in they were collected in that bowl and brought in the car for delivery to my house that night for me cookies.
I was so surprised. Speechless, actually.
"Why? asks I. "I saw your Facebook post (Val vomit)" she says. "I wanted to give you these sweet cookies to remind you of how sweet Tom is." She did it because she felt like she should.
And she was gone. Off to join up with her group that had already moved on.
So the cookies and I took our tour.
Then, surprisingly. Pam was back. "One more thing Val...I only saw you when I came out to the lobby to answer my cell phone. But no one was there." Her husband hadn't called. There was no one on the line.
A few days later I got a handwritten letter in the mail.
My favorite kind to get.
From Pam, the Cookie Angel.
Her sweet note explained that after her group's tour of the jail, they went for ice cream and that she would not have been able to come and deliver them to my house that day she felt she should. How God knows all and brought me to the jail at the exact right time so that she could see me there.
What did I learn from all of this?
Many things, but one was that sometimes wonderful tender mercies cannot be calendared out. :)
