Just remember to eat

What? It's November 21st? How?  When did that happen? Oh, right.....

Homecoming happened, and I worked my tush off so much that I woke up the very next morning with what quickly turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis. Hey, at least my body waited until AFTER the biggest event of the year I host. Thanks I guess.... even though I paid for it by every single breath being a struggle for the next two weeks!  UGH.

Just as I thought maybe I was on the mend....

Mom called just before 2:30 AM Friday, November 10 to tell me that there had been a fire. My step brother was burned, as was his younger son.  His older son, who had just turned 19, who had just graduated from high school and was thinking about all the possibilities life was suppose to give him... didn't make it out.  The firefighter died in a fire in his own home.
Knowing it was going to be a long, hard week,with few answers, mom wouldn't let me go up there with them. So I spent the next several days in a fog, hoping everything was a dream and I'd wake up and that phone call, the fire, none of it had happened.

But we're living in a world now without Gregory, without my nephew. We're grieving, we're wondering why, and we're reaching out to God for comfort and reassurance.

In the midst of that, we've got a surgery that needs to be scheduled, and doctors that need to get on the same page. Soon. If cancer can suddenly appear in just 6 months, wouldn't you think that waiting 4... so far.... weeks is TOO LONG and it's CRUCIAL to get this taken out as soon as possible? Before it spreads...AGAIN?

I'm not a doctor, what do I know?

Here's something I do know. No matter how hard life is beating you down, no matter how depressed you feel, no matter how small your appetite is....

EAT BREAKFAST!!

It's the first, and most important, meal of the day. Breakfast helps your body and mind get a grip and a good start to the day. That, and a glass of water.  Drink water. Lots of it.

There are so many great options for breakfast these days, too! Thanks to #Kroger, I got to try several for #FREE with some #Coupons for some #FreeSamp Samples.  They sent a box of Rice Bitz (aka Chex Squares) and coupons for more cereal, some breakfast bars, and some oatmeal. 

Y'all, in my opinion (whatever that's worth), Kroger's Raisin Bran tastes better than Kellog's version!

That box of Rice Bitz... Sure, I could have just ate it for breakfast, too.... but I wanted to do something fun to cheer us up a little.  I did kind ruin the whole "this is healthy food".... but I added Golden Grahams, Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter, and Powdered Sugar and made S'mores Muddy Buddies - or some call it Puppy Chow.

I think we need a closer look:

I had some nasty heartburn from it, but it tasted good the first time!  MMMmmmm.  Everyone else definitely enjoyed it.  

So, the moral of this story.... well, it shouldn't be "make junk food out of what was meant for healthy food while you're grieving".... but it is eat. Don't stop eating. Don't eat too much, but definitely eat. And eat healthy.  Avoid gluten (it gives me heartburn!) avoid sugar (Ok, don't look at those pictures above. We were bad.) Drink water. (flush out all those sugars you shouldn't have eaten). And above all:

Tell people you love them before they're gone and it's too late.

Call you mom/dad/daughter/etc. every day.

I can pretty much guarantee you I'll be talking to my mom on the phone *at least* once every day for a long time.

We both need that.

Stop fighting. Say your sorry. Reconcile. Reconnect. Cry out to Jesus. Ask HIM for help. Love God, love others. Follow HIM.