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Muddy footprints spotted my freshly mopped floor. Not surprisingly, they led me directly to my future chemist son conducting a science experiment in his previously sparkling bathroom sink. “What are you doing?”
Hunter jumped at my voice. “I’m making a potion.” An empty soap dispenser and flattened toothpaste tube were clues to the main ingredients.
“Clean this mess up NOW!” I knew I should probably encourage his ingenuity, but at the moment I was thinking only of the ladies on the retreat committee who would arrive in thirty minutes for a planning meeting.
Exiting the bathroom, I tripped over a pair of roller blades. “Madison! Come get your skates right now!”
“Just a sec.”
Unfortunately for her, I was in my no-mercy mood. I found her helping her younger brother work a puzzle.
“Isn’t Grayson doing good?” Madison asked proudly. I looked at my watch and then at the puzzle pieces scattered across the room.
“Put up the puzzle and your skates...NOW!” This time there were no arguments.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Coordinating a women’s retreat in addition to my already hectic schedule was making me tense.
When the ladies arrived for the meeting, our kids played outside while we planned. “I have some bad news.” Stacey looked apologetic.
“What?” I wanted the retreat to be perfect, so her tone worried me.
“Debra called this morning. She can’t lead worship.”
“You’re kidding!” My disappointment was obvious. “She agreed to do it six months ago. Who are we going to get now?”
“Is something wrong with Debra?” Kathy asked with the concern I had failed to demonstrate.
“Her mother has cancer.”
“That’s terrible.” Kathy said.
“Yes,” I agreed, but ashamedly my mind was on finding her replacement more than her mother.
Madison appeared in the doorway interrupting our meeting. “Hunter’s hurt.”
I excused myself and found him laying on the ground moaning. “Oh, Hunter,” I complained as I picked him up and sat him beside me with an ice pack. We continued our meeting, but he was uncharacteristically quiet and looked sleepy, which caused me concern. As my friends were leaving, I heard Hunter vomit.
Two days later, after numerous missed diagnoses, Hunter was transported by helicopter to a trauma hospital were surgeons removed a massive blood clot from his head. The next seventy-hours were a blur of doctor reports, beeping monitors, sleepless nights, and ceaseless prayers.
“I want a chance to tell him I’m sorry for being frustrated with him,” I confessed to my husband after his surgery. He was still unconscious, but I hadn’t left his room since we’d arrived.
My husband squeezed my hand. “I know.”
The next day they started decreasing his meds and we began to hope for a recovery. When he woke up, he was upset about the tubes down his throat, which was a good sign. His agitation and complaints were music to my ears.
Remarkably, he was discharged with forty stitches in his head only seven days after the doctors had sawed into his skull. “I’m expecting a full recovery,” our surgeon told us with a smile. “You’re very, very fortunate.”
Life slowly returned to normal after the accident, but I wasn’t the same. When we met to discuss the retreat, my friends noticed the difference.
“We still haven’t found a worship leader.” Kathy looked panicked.
“It’ll be fine,” I said. “We’ll play a CD and I’ll do a Milli Vanilli if needed.”
“But...” Kathy began.
“But, nothing. What’s important is that we worship.”
“The tablecloths don’t match the centerpieces.” Stacey actually looked scared.
“These aren’t important issues,” I said calmly, “and I refuse to worry about them.”
At breakfast the next morning Grayson knocked over a large cup of milk. “Uh oh.” His eyes were wide with fear.
I stared at the milk for a moment. “The shape of that spill reminds me of a dragon. But he needs a tail.” I put my hand down in the wet liquid and spread it to form a tail. My kids stared at me in disbelief. “What do you think?”
“Dragons have wings,” Madison said hesitantly.
“Why don’t you add the wings,” I encouraged.
Madison timidly put her hand in the milk and drew wings. Hunter smiled as he added fire breath. Soon, we’d spread milk across the entire table surface.
Almost losing Hunter had indeed changed me. Before the accident, I never would have seen the dragon in the milk.
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