Watch what you say!  My mom had knee replacement surgery two weeks ago.  It was long overdue!  She gave some consideration to not having the surgery simply because of all the unknowns after surgery.  Well, she went through with it but I’m not certain she will ever have the other knee done.  Many have told us that knee replacement surgery is painful but in the end you’re always glad you went through with it.  Someone compared it to child birth; you experience incredible pain in the delivery room but you forget about that pain when you look at the face of that little child that just came into the world.  With knee surgery, I guess you eventually forget about all the pain and discomfort once you start walking again.
 
My mom stayed in the hospital for a few days after the surgery.  Jackie and I were on “parent-patrol” the day after her surgery.  “Parent-patrol” simply means that my sisters and I take turns helping wherever help is needed.  It just so happened that Jackie and I were on for this particular afternoon at the hospital.  One of our other sisters had just left with dad to drive him home after what turned out to be a long day at the hospital.  I always find it amazing how you can simply sit around in a waiting room or in a patient’s room doing practically nothing other than stare at each other and you still get tired and exhausted!  A unique thing happens though when you sit there wearing a roman collar because you end up talking to lots of people and many times you get the opportunity to pray with others as they too wait for their loved ones to come out of surgery.  And then my dad can strike up a conversation with anyone and he often does so in waiting rooms.  Ironically for us, as we walked into the waiting room this time, my dad ran into a college and work friend.  My dad’s friend’s wife was also having knee surgery so they immediately started swapping “wife knee stories.”
 
On this particular evening the day after my mom’s surgery, she was still on some heavy pain medication and we were convinced she was totally out of it.  Often times in these similar situations the family in the room might engage in a group text with each other with their phones on silent so as not to disturb the patient!  This way we can have a conversation and not worry about keeping the patient up … except for the occasional outburst of laughter from the entire group over something that might have been said in a text.  This time however, Jackie and I decided we would quietly whisper to each other because we thought mom was still a little “loopy.”  The TV was off and the hallway noise was minimal but we figured we could chat a bit, albeit very softly, without disturbing or waking her up.  It just so happened that mom was the topic of conversation; we were trying to figure out who was going to do what once we got her out of the hospital.  We had our tasks pretty much divided amongst the siblings but Jackie and I were making sure everything was covered.  Just as we started to chat, a very groggy mom in a barely audible voice said to us:  “If you’re going to talk about me go out in the hallway.”  We both burst out laughing!  Without a nanosecond of hesitation, Jackie responded, “Mom, you always taught us not to talk about you behind your back so we’re doing it to your face.”  Jackie and I looked at each other with huge grins and I thought to myself, “We should probably just go back to texting each other.”  She obviously was a bit more alert than we thought!
 
My mom ended up going to a Heartland Rehab Center.  By the grace of God, she landed in the adjacent room to her first cousin Bev who had been at Heartland for a couple of weeks already.  Aunt Bev and my mom have been more like sisters throughout their lives so it’s been a hoot to visit them at Heartland; those two can occupy hours and hours just swapping stories and laughing endlessly; they’re also instant partners in praying the rosary and other prayers.  It’s been good for both of them to be there at the same time.  I wish I had video of this but I’ve been told that often after their long afternoon or evening talks and laughs, they’ve been known to push each other in their wheelchairs as they go to each other’s rooms or down the hallway for a “walk.”  I could only imagine the laughter as they maneuver each other’s wheelchairs.  My mom’s room has also been dubbed the party room because we’ve stocked it full of snacks and, of course, lots of chocolate!  There’s nothing like snacks, chocolate and lots of laughter to get you through long days at a hospital or rehab center!  Yes, the pain meds may help but the snacks, chocolate and laughter are the perfect addition!
 
REP Opening Liturgies to be Celebrated on Monday:  If you have a child in our Religious Education Program please consider joining us for mass on Monday afternoon/evening as we celebrate our opening mass of the year.  The mass for the first session will take place at 4:25 p.m.  The mass for the second session will take place at 6:25 p.m.  These opening liturgies are a great way to begin our year of faith formation.  At the same time, it gives me the opportunity to talk about the importance of prayer and the urgent need we have of strengthening our relationship with the Lord.
 
As we start a new year of faith formation, I want to express my gratitude to all of the staff, catechists and volunteers in our religious education program.  Thanks for giving your time so freely and for sharing your faith with our young people.  It may not always be easy facing a classroom of students each week but it truly is a rewarding ministry.  Thank you!
 
Bulletin Advertisers:  As you look through the pages of our bulletin, you will see that close to three pages of our bulletin are filled with ads.  These generous businesses and individuals are the ones who pay for the publication and printing of our weekly bulletin.  I hope you would consider doing business with our advertisers and mentioning you saw their ad in our bulletin.  If you know of someone or a business that would like to advertise with us, please call the Parish Center and they will direct you to the people who publish the bulletin.
 
Enjoy the week.  Know of my prayers.
 
In Christ,
 
gmb
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