I hosted a Relay For Life Tupperware party last night in a town bout 30 miles from my home. When the party was over, it was storming outside something fierce. I packed up everything, tucked Jeremiah into his carseat with a blanket, turned on the lullaybe CD and slowly made my way towards home. I got about 3 miles from our home but the roads were flooded....fast moving water. I turned around and tried another route but ran into the same problem. I couldn't get home. I stopped at a house right where I couldn't go any further. A woman in her 70s came out of her house just as I pulled in her driveway. I asked if I could use her phone. She let me into her home, I called Pete to tell him I couldn't get home and was going to go to Mom's house which is 26 miles away. The woman looked at me and she said, "You can stay here."   A complete stranger welcomed Jeremiah and I into her home. I wasn't sure but the thought of taking my baby back out on the roads was weighing heavily on my mind. I think she could sense my hesitation and then she told me that she lived alone. The storm and the rising water nearby scared her. Her basement was filling with water and she didn't want to be alone. She had a sump pump on but she wasn't sure it would keep running. I agreed to stay. Jeremiah played and we talked for hours. We sat at the kitchen table and she told me about her family and how she lost her husband of 57 years last September to cancer. She let Jeremiah and I sleep in her bed and in the morning she showed me all kinds of frames and cabinets her husband had made, pictures of him and then she brought out a shoebox with shall the sympathy cards she had received....70 of them she said. There was such a deep sadness about her, I could feel it resonating in the air.. that makes my heart hurt. The good news?   I made a new friend and I think Jeremiah and I will be seeing her again soon. :)

Michelle

PS. My finternails and toenails are painted teal...for a few Relay For Life events. Teal is the designated color for ovarian cancer...I wear it to show my support.

Michelle