Grateful for a Weekend of Healing

Despite not much sleep, I medicated up, gathered my belongings, packed my gear, loaded my rig, and hit the open road.

The weather was fairly decent, Mt Adams & Mt Rainer were both clearly visible and crisp along the horizon as I traveled through Yakima Valley.

Cruising through Snoqualmie Pass was breathtaking!  Especially so, as it was a privilege to witness the golden afternoon sunlight dance with the crisp sky blue, just above little bursts of mist & mountain tops! 

Simply charming...

After about 4 hours of staring at the freeway (there's nothing quite like hitting I-5 or the 405 in the smack middle of rush hour, oy!  Too stressful, btw, no pics of THAT), I finally arrived near the SeaTac airport to meet 5 lovely ladies for an evening of visiting and long overdue hugs!

Crazy part?

I could feel all the effects of my meds as well as the bug I'd fought all week throughout the drive, however when I entered the Hotel lobby, I felt clearer than I had in days!  Then when I reached the certain room's door, it opened and SIF wrapped me in a hug...and I felt even clearer.  :)  Finally, face to face!  It was wonderful.

The whole reason we women gathered was to rally around our friend SIF who was in Seattle from Alaska for some medical appointments regarding her infertility.  So, the rest of us we elated when she invited us up to visit her while she took it easy after her procedure, and before she flew home on Saturday.  (Not gonna lie, I jumped at the chance, since the last time she was in Seattle for appointments I wasn't able to see her.  So my heart's been set on this visit for a long time, as we've shared many thoughts & tears here in the blogosphere, due to the gajillion miles between here & Alaska!)  Meeting the other gals was absolutely icing on the cake!
 
Did you know 4 hours can easily feel like 10 minutes when you've got great company.  Did you know that?!?  (In addition to myself and SIF, there was Megan, Alissa, Maranda, & Elizabeth.)  We talked jobs, college days, spirituality, opinions, the state of the world we live in, Celiac, Infertility, Endometriosis, and all other everyday life stuff for us.

And I have to say that it was a breath of fresh air to be with 5 other young women who are all standing in the same infertile shoes.  An absolute relief to not feel pitied, or regarded as a freak for either not having more kids or selfish for wanting them at all.  It was nice to find a niche where I knew I belonged.

Now, don't think that I don't appreciate all of the friends I have outside of this lovely group of ladies.  I do.  But the difference is I think that we're all going through this together.  None of the six us really have someone in our daily life, in our little home town, our local church group, or our neighborhood walking the desolate path of infertility with us.  So it's nice to discover a safety net of sorts...finally!

Aren't they all such beautiful women?!?  (Ignore me & my heinous horizontal stripes!) BTW, those are gluten-free brownies that Megan made!  Sweet, thoughtful gal.  Too bad my stomach wasn't having ANYthing to do with food, thanks to the nasty bug and anti-B's.  Bleck tummy! :(

From there, I traveled south about another hour that night to the home of my older sister and her husband, in Olympia.  The big deal about THAT is that they just moved back from the east coast this past spring, after 13 years.

Yep, you read that right.  I haven't seen her in 13 years!

......And I hadn't met her husband yet, ever.  So, to get there and to see them was AWESOME!!!  And to hug?  Oh my, well, suffice it to say, when you're sisters a hug always closes any distance, miles OR years!  The whole weekend was one HUGE hug.  To talk, reminisce, & laugh made it feel like really no time had passed since we were last together.  It was absolutely what my soul needed.

(We're technically half-sisters, but we don't even mention the "half" part, cause then it feels like we're less than sisters.  So we're just sisters.  But while I was there, I DID get to see her mom for the first time since I was probably 9 or 10.  And I got to meet my sister's step-dad as well.  And man was it cathartic to see them as well!  Turns out that her step-dad & I share some similar points of view...which even include the Seattle Seahawks!  Lol.  Also, it was awesome to see my sister's mom so happy.  She & her husband are such a good match for one another.  It just radiates off them....much like what I saw with my sister and HER husband!  What a treat to behold.)

I needed to see my sister happy.
I needed to see that she & her husband are made for one another.
I needed to share giggles & appreciate the beauty in each of our lives with her.
I needed to play Scrabble with them.
I needed to have my sister back!  

I know we don't look as much like sisters as we should, but that's because she is beautiful, and I hadn't a stitch of make-up on yet that day, and I don't think I was back to 100% yet.....plus, gotta love the extra poundage an over-endowed northern half & chunky sweaters add.  But, SHE is wonderful, so ignore me! 

My sister & her husband....and "Cheddar Biscuit" who was my buddy & roommate all weekend!

(AND I NEEDED TO LEARN HOW TO MAKE MY VERY FIRST LAMPWORK BEAD!!!  Thanks to my BIL who was patient with me, and showed me the ropes with the torch & oodles of colorful glass!  I was like a kid in the candy store, or me in the Back-2-School supplies section of markers and crayons, or me elbows-deep in the bucket of buttons at Porter's in Rexburg!  Lol.)

The top bead was made by my BIL to show me the basics.  I love the clear blue.  Gorgeous!  The bottom bead is mine.  I wanted to make a statement with the crisp red, so started with that.  But I'd seen beads they've done where the rich hue is encapsulated in this gorgeous clear glass, which is what I wanted to do with the red.  Unfortunately for that plan, instead of clear I grabbed a rod of what turned out to be a pale chartreuse-y looking glass (thinking it was clear, thanks to the UV protectant glasses, lol), which also happened to be a reactive glass!  So instead we have this smoky, purple-graphite/gray shimmer color intermixed with the red.  Reminds me of a planet filled with tumultuous storms of bright gases!  Crazy, eh?

Both Friday night with the girls, and the rest of the weekend spent with my sister & BIL, was filled with peace that helped sooth different griefs I've had for a long time.  The weekend definitely tied up some loose ends for me, and has helped me heal a bit....and feel whole again.

There are no words which can adequately convey the gratitude I have to my Heavenly Father for the boon this weekend was.  He knows each of us, and the exact balm necessary to allow healing to occur.  He loves us, wants to comfort us, and yearns for us to trust Him enough for it to all unfold according to His design.

("Christ Healing by the Well of Bethesda" by Carl Bloch, courtesy of LDS.org)

"Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

"And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath."  (John 5:8-9)

He's been with me throughout all the heartaches...and yet again, after knowing all that has occurred and having heard my prayers start to get old, He listened and He answered those tired pleas....if not a baby at the moment, then instead confidants who know every chord & tone of the same pulled heartstrings for now....if not my sister living down the street, then instead her being across the state is sufficient.

What great & marvelous gifts of healing He has given me this weekend!