I can still faintly recall the screams of the siren atop the ambulance transporting us to emergency care!  My youngest child, barely 8 months old, fought for her life as we careened down the freeway toward the hospital.  Through the whole process, I remember her eyes filled with so much fear as she fought for each breath.  God Bless You to ALL Emergency workers, and I mean Globally!  I want to make sure they all get that! 

… It was a beautifully warm sunny Friday, and as I packed for the Woman’s Retreat I had been so anticipating.  Being a young mom of 3, this was like a fantasy weekend at the Hilton.  I was filled with a mix of excitement and guilt all rolled in to one.  My youngest baby was still in the process of being weaned from nursing straight to a tippy cup.  Why a tippy cup, you may ask?  This little monkey was so stubborn, that she absolutely boycotted any bottles.  I had been following the suggestions on the list I received from the pediatrician, regarding palatable food choices for her age group.  Things were going well with this, so I left her to nibble on some scrambled eggs, while I ran to the grocery to stock her father with goodies for the weekend. 

When I walked in the door, on my return from the store, I could hear her in her room crying and her father pacing worriedly in the doorway.  I swear I had only been gone like 20 or so minutes, but in that time, things went way sideways at home…

Anaphylactic Shock, people!  I had no idea!  For her, eggs were a big NO NO!  Long story short, I grabbed up my little Violet (willy Wonka) and her dad hit 911!  They literally showed up as we hit the front doorway, I am not joking!  It probably was due to the firehouse being a block away…

Arriving at the very hospital of her birth, my little monkey was whisked in and pumped full of enough Steroids and anti-inflammatories to power a city!  But it worked!  They stabilized her, gave us a bunch of drugs, cleared me to take her with me for the weekend, and off she and I went to a weekend retreat at Black Lake Bible Conference Center down in Olympia Washington.

I know that this memory started out rough this week, but I want to share the rest of the story to leave you with the good bits that will bring it all together for a good laugh, and/or maybe even some tears…

I was not looking forward to the weekend ahead, due to the energizer bunny I now struggled to hold into a car seat for the trip down.  I was blessed to be going with a car full of other moms who “got it”!  They had all taken their share of sleepless nights and mom “scares”.  I felt like I was being transported into a place of safety, peace, and sisterhood.

For the next 2 and ½ days I was surrounded by, not only the woman I had arrived with, but the entire woman’s conference of wives, mothers, sisters, and aunties!  Round the clock, woman all took turns vying for playtime with my little nocturnal monkey.  In truth, I do not know how much sleep she got, if any, as I had been lovingly sequestered off into a quiet space to sleep all the way through the night.  All during the daytime, as we all spent time together studying, random woman would quietly walk up behind me, tapping me on my shoulder, and simply reach down to retrieve my little jumping bean.  They would take turns, tirelessly walking her around the back of the room and keeping her happy.  I will never forget that feeling of a safety net from mostly strangers, and my daughter who normally was terrified of others “Not Mother”, loved every moment of things…

You know, I just realized that I had never written this memory down, and had actually forgotten, until recently I saw a facebook post about their summer events.  Funny ole world, I’nt it? (You realize, I didn’t come up with that last sentence, right?)