Sun, 07/19/09 - I think 10 miles. I forgot to check the ending miles when we returned today. Starting mile was 236. We (son, d-i-l, dog, & me) had a great day outside. Son & I rode to the canal, which is in downtown Indy. We met d-i-l & dog there for a walk. I triked while they all walked. Many people were out enjoying the weather. Skies were heavily overcast and just as we returned back to the house, rain began slowly falling.



This son attends IUPUI (they pronounce it ou (as in the you sound) - ee - pou (again: you)- ee. Not the way it is "spelled" - i - ou- pou- i. He & I rode around campus after his wife & dog returned home. There was a professional tennis championship event happening on campus - we rode around the courts. Son said he thinks he saw Danica Patrik at his gym during the recent Indy 500. He's played basketball w/ Michael Bolton and his former room-mate played basketball w/ Obama. This campus is in the downtown area of Indy. Very impressive.



This is the bldg where this son spends his days and partial nights. Two more years of here, then he's off to wherever the AirForce sends him. I admire his perseverance and dedication to his program of study.

Here's the "family picture" w/ the Indy skyline in the background.

Life is difficult from time to time. Sometimes life outright stinks. And sometimes life is magnificent. Today I longed for "home" more than I have recently. I just wanna "be there". No more pain. No more tears. No more separation. We'll be there. In the presence of GOD for eternity.

I will drive back to my house tomorrow, stopping in GR for PT. This is a long drive. I had to stop and nap on the drive down. This is not typical pre-accident. I could make a 12 hr trip w/ maybe one bathroom/eating stop. Taking a 4 hr trip was a challenge on Friday. I also saw an auto accident before emergency vehicles were on the scene. A car was in the median of a 4-6 lane highway w/a completely smashed in driver door. Then all the sirens showed up on the interstate. My heart breaks w/ compassion for the responders. All I wanted to do was get far away. Perhaps someday I won't wail w/ grief when I pass an accident. Second thought, perhaps we all should wail w/ grief when we see an accident. I used to be desensitized to this type of scene. Just a quick prayer for safety (too late!) & comfort (for the victim?) and I was on my way to the next thing I had to do. I felt rather "good" about myself for pausing to utter a quick prayer. Now I weep for the loved ones of the victims. Their lives are getting turned upside down and they don't even know it yet. The police responding to my accident called my Dad first. I don't know how they knew to call him. Why not my family in my State? My Dad gave the police my husband's number. My husband called our kids. I was already at the hospital before any of them knew. Their lives were being set into a swirl of great magnitude before they even knew it. I couldn't help them. Any of them. When an accident occurs, lives are changed. Many lives. In many ways. A prayer for safety and comfort is nice. But, now I choose to pray that those affected will become desperate for the Giver of Life to give them Life. Real Life. Comfort & safety do not compare to receiving REAL LIFE. Even though my living is fraught w/ pain of many kinds, as is most people's, I experience REAL LIFE in the midst of it all. There is hope that all our lives will reach out in desperation for the only Source of Life while living here.

Blessings Abound!

~A~