Spokane

I'm calling the scattered content of this post "Spokane" because it all happened in Spokane. But it's really not much about Spokane.
I took two trips to Spokane last weekend because Mom had a hip replacement done there.
It's been awhile since I have spent any time in the city- not much since the girls have been born. I realized how much I've changed, become more entrenched in my country ways. I don't like the traffic; it's so rude. I drive politely and gum up the whole works and miss exits and such. I don't care for the food; I don't know where it came from, and I have to pay for it. (but something so necessary I hate to complain about too much). I don't like the sensation of elevators as they rise and fall, and the personal space is pretty limited in there......
I also did a little shopping. Now I love nice things. I'm not snobbish about the Faded Glory brand, but I realize that spending less on things doesn't always save money. But my strategy has been the Goodwill. Picky Goodwill shopper. Well anyway, I tried Old Navy and I found I just can't bring myself to pay new prices anymore. I am a confirmed country girl. It feels good to know that. These were my discoveries on Thursday, the day of the surgery.
Saturday night we (Jay and I and the girls), stayed overnight. I stayed at the hospital with Mom, and Jay and the girls stayed at a motel across the street. That was an uncomfortable night. I slept in a hospital version of a lazyboy. I hope you never meet one. Also, I didn't realize how much patients are woke for who knows what all night long.
However, the most important impression made on me was listening to my mother pray for each one of her living descendants by name. Here she is, a little foggy from the pain meds, the four walls she's been looking at for two and a half days solid, and she can remember all 70 of her descendants by name. AND she makes the effort to pray for them. I remember when I was a teenager and pretty idealistic about all things spiritual, thinking that mom's prayers for her offspring were not selfish, but at least too limited. I thought she should be tackling more important issues, such as missions, the abortion issue, etc. Well, I heard her pray for her whole family by name, and then she prayed for an ungodly president, with respect, and I was ashamed and challenged. Some days I think I'm so busy that I hardly pray for my own two kids, much less Obama. I think it is so important to be faithful in those "little" things. God help me to do better!
Sunday we took the girls to Riverfront Park, even though all of us had had a rough night and were pretty much exhausted. The park is big compared to our little parks here in Smalltown, USA. It has a carousel that is about a hundred years old I believe.

And now here we are a month later, and I still haven't posted. I went to Spokane again today, but that really has nothing to do with this post.