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Blogs by Jean Sheldon
Priorities 7/19/2007 10:58:10 AM
A quick phone call from mom and priorities aligned in my head, and my heart. My mom called this morning to tell me she took my dad to the ER yesterday. He had a pain in his chest and his blood pressure went through the roof. Dad is 81 and mom is 78. They are remarkably healthy people who walk two miles to get a cup of coffee, and then two miles home to burn off the caffeine. We have been fortunate as a family, and lived long enough to work through most differences.
Dad is fine and completely stubborn again. They couldn’t find a reason for the pain and the doctor told him he’d like to exchange EKG’s with him. Mom said that after she hung up, they were going to take a few boxes of things over to Good Will.
“Should he be lifting?” I ask, knowing that no one tells my father what to do.
“Should you be lifting?” Mom shouts to another room.
“I’m fine,” is his distant and slightly perturbed response.
Sometimes, a kick in the head helps clear my vision. I needed this kick. I’ve been worrying about reviews, and books sales. I’ve been tracking the hits on my various web sites and blogs. A quick phone call from mom and priorities aligned in my head, and my heart. Of course, I care what others think of my work, but there are things that are far more important to me. I just need a little reminding every now and then.
On an aside: At the time they were in the ER, I sat at the computer and suddenly sensed where they were. I pushed the thought aside because they would have called. Then I realized, unless there was a problem, they would not have called. I wasn’t totally surprised by mom’s call this morning, and when I told her I sensed they were there, she reminded me that I should have. Damn, I love those two.
