Memories

  Memories-I was thinking that about all I have from my pre-stroke days
are my
memories. Today, I thought that I might just share some of my random
memories.

My very first memory isn't even a memory. More like an impression. I had
pneumonia when I was three. I have a vague impression of people in white.
Nurses in the hospital, I guess. (Back then, I am sure nurses wore white) In
my next memory, I would have been four. One of my sisters is two years older
than me. She was starting Grade 1. My mother sent her to school in a new
pair of jeans and she came back with them completely ripped up the seam. And
I have no idea why I remember that! One school memory I have was when I was
in grade 2. I went to a one-room school and they only had one small desk.
They gave it to me because I was smaller than all the kids in grade 1. I was
so
insulted by that! The last childhood memory that I will share is "the frog
pond". My mother worked hard but, during the summer, she would go with us
kids to the frog pond. She would rest under a tree while  we caught frogs.
Because we always put them back unharmed, the frogs, more or less, got to
the point that they just let us pick them up. There are many more childhood
memories that I could share but I won't. I seem to be getting like a lot of
older people. Memories of my childhood are more vivid than more recent ones.

Then there are the memories that have from grade 6 through high school. For
the first time in my life, I started grade 6 in a city school (Medicine
Hat). Of course, that took some adjusting. What I clearly remember, though,
is skating. After we moved to Medicine Hat, I learned to skate and, aside
from reading, that is how I spent a lot of my time. There was an outdoors
rink close to where we lived. Everytime it was open to public skating, I was
there. If I remember right, it cost something like 15 cents! I was very shy
in junior and senior high so I don't have any stand-out memories. However, I
do remember having to wear dresses, a far cry from how kids dress for school
these days. Then there were our Sunday afternoon drives. Even when I was in
junior high, most Sunday afternoons we would all pile in the car and go for
a drive. I do have one bad memory from that time. When I was in grade 11,my
father died of a heart attack 3 days before Christmas.

University memories. At university, I finally came out of my shell . I had a
good time and did silly things like most university students do. However,
because I had to pay my own way through university, I didn't dare fool
around too much. Fortunately, I had a roommate who also took her studies
seriously. We had a good time together but we also knew when it was time to
buckle down and hit the books. But university days don't last forever. One
memory I have is after my last year, before I moved to Cold Lake. My friend
and I took the train to Nova Scotia. We also spent some time in PEI. That
was the biggest trip that I have taken but, then, I have spent a lot of my
life in either a hospital or Long-term care.

Once I moved to Cold Lake to start teaching, my life was as "normal" as it
ever was. At least, until I had the stroke. I was 22 when I came to Cold
Lake, met my future husband here, got married when I was 24 and had a couple
of kids. Pretty routine stuff. It was here in Cold Lake that I learned to
curl. I enjoyed it very much and continued it until I had the stroke.
Unfortunately, when I was first pregnant with my daughter, my mother passed
away from a stroke.

But, I have some post-stroke memories as well. I am not even going to try to
bring up memories of the time of the stroke or the period of time
thereafter. My very best post-stroke memory is when I got saved, or became a
Christian. Try as I might, though, I cannot recall the exact date. I know
that it was September of 1985 but I have no idea of the day. What I never
will forget is the feeling like a heavy burden had been lifted off of my
shoulder when he prayed. I was excited, so excited. The first  little while,
I barely noticed the yucky stuff all around me. I was too caught up in
Jesus. Since then, though, it has been some really good times (high school
grads for my kids, my daughter's wedding, trips to Edmonton to see my
grandson, day trips to Lloydminster, etc.), some really bad times (meltdown
days) and a whole lot of extremely blah days. But, no matter what each day
holds, I know I can count on Jesus to go through it with me.