The line: "Mam...Don't forget your angel." will be etched in my memory forever I suppose.
But first, the background...
This past Christmas my mother gifted me a small clip for the visor of my car --the kind you've probably seen before with a mother's prayer asking God to protect her daughter while driving. I stuck the pewter heart-shaped message on the visor of my Jeep and went about my merry way, only a week ago this weekend, we admitted my mother to the hospital for a surgical procedure. Because her car sits lower to the ground and is tagged for handicap things, we took her car to the hospital.
The last thing I did after seeing that Mom was situated in the passenger seat, was grab my purse from my own blue Jeep, and in a "this'll make her smile" afterthought, grabbed Mom's angel clip, placing it above my head on HER car's visor, saying "If we're taking your car, that angel comes with us."
As an update on my mother's health, she is still in the hospital; the surgery (to remove skin cancer cells run amuck) was not pretty. We do hope to have her home shortly, but as anyone knows who has dealt in these sorts of things, there'a a lot of back and forth to the routine when it comes to families in the hospital, doctor updates and the like.
The surgeon had told us it could take a couple of days to get the lab reports back. ( There was skin grafting involved. We've got a bit of a journey to go.) But as if she hadn't endured enough drama, I was heading back into Nashville, after a day back home to tend critters, hoping to get to my mother before the pathology report was presented. (Some things people should not hear alone; furthermore, I am the designated stenographer, hand-holder and question-asker of doctors ~ Little do they know I'm a trained professional in this department, but I digress...)
In my haste to get to her, sadly, I took out her car...by "took out" I mean I totaled it ~ (Or rather, a tractor trailer did.) For the record when you tangle with an 18-wheeler, Camry's do not win. We have living proof of that, with an emphasis today on "living" ~ Suffice it to say, it just wasn't a pretty week all the way around, but I am nothing but grateful to be writing this much of a report.
Having talked to mother's doctors by phone while walking in a fog of aftershock and guilt for ruining a perfectly fine car that didn't belong to me (thank God for insurance), I finally got up the nerve and made my way to the car impound lot where the shock of what survived almost brought me to my knees.
The kind man who owned the lot let me in, following with a trash bag to gather the things left in her car, which consisted of a pair of boots for me, some mail for her, some jumper cables in the trunk and a couple of walking canes that match certain outfits...(Of all my mom's priorities, fashion sense ranks high on the list. We love buying her designer canes.) As I crunched through the last of the shattered glass surrounding our belongings, the kind impound man gave the interior one last glance when he noticed the shiny heart still clipped to the visor. Reaching in he to grab it he turned to hand it to me with ...
"Mam...Don't forget your angel."
Living life at the point of tears is more than a refrigerator magnet in my world these days, but I must say, this moment took the cake (if not my breath away).
I would like to take another moment to thank the Lebanon police department, the paramedics and even the driver of the rig who, NOT in shock as I was, had the presence of mind to call for help...The women in my Women's Circle (I was likewise heading to see) and the many, many friends who've been helping me with the farm and who are praying for us both and still are...
And I of course, want to thank the nice tow truck man who summed up my entire life story this week with one simple, yet all too telling line of "Mam... Don't forget your angel." (Oh, and I want to thank that angel, or band thereof, as well, for clearly they've been on overtime this week.)
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