Faith, hope and love. These are the keys of life. So far I have stepped out in Faith to share Hope and Love with children living in unimaginable poverty through Compassion International and I have been richly rewarded. So far I have held to my faith that God will provide for me, and every need has been met. He somehow made it so that I have an extra month of my most expensive prescription, and this is a prescription that I can take half dose and still be safe so I have a 4 month supply. Loaves and fish. Almost all of my prescriptions have excess pills with about a month extra. The prescriptions that I do need are very reasonably priced, and I was able to cut the costs of two of them by calling other pharmacies because Target price matches. My doctor allowed me to call and request an antibiotic for a sinus infection without having to pay for an office visit and also agreed to switch a medicine due to side effects trusting me. Love has been poured out to me abundantly, and I have had amazing support. By taking my medication as prescribed and dealing with the sleepiness, I am obtaining results that make the dystonia tolerable. Faith, Hope, and Love.
I will write another post soon, after I send out letters to my Compassion kidlets, about other aspects of life but I wanted to get this update on here.

Most mothers give their infants life once, which is a beautiful miracle, but my mother spent a year in her life breathing life back into me and giving me life again and again. I was born an apparently healthy infant, bald as bald could possibly be and full of attitude, and giving no signs of the genetic disease that was already written in every cell of my body. When I was five months old my mother was rocking me to sleep while watching a movie on TV. She did not want to miss the end of the movie, so she laid me on a blanket on the ground rather than taking me upstairs to my nursery. When the movie finished she discovered I was grayish blue, not breathing, and had no detectable heart beat. The monster in my genes had decided to rear its head in the form of relentless apnea. My mother learned infant cpr, I was hooked to a monitor, and no one ever slept through the night. Our address became well known to every fire fighter in our small town and they did not bother to knock on the door if a call came in, they came through the door one way or another. Yet the apnea was vicious. After one particularly prolonged episode at 6 months of age, my parents were taken to the little room no parents ever want to go to and informed that I was profoundly and terminally brain damaged with a life expectancy of less than six months. The recommended course of treatment was to leave me hospitalized or placed in an institution until I died naturally of another episode. My mother refused to give up on me. She informed the doctors that I was a child, not a used car that you return and replace because it is broken. I went home with her that day. The apnea continued up until my first birthday, but my parents persevered and delighted as I met every milestone. When I started to read at two and a half, my mother realized that she was in for a totally different ride than any of the doctors had tried to prepare her for.
My mom has been my biggest supporter. She believes in me even when I am unsure. Without her support I never would have had the courage to apply to Vanderbilt, let alone done well enough on the scholarship weekend to win a full Deans honors scholarship. Without her support I never would have had the courage to apply to Virginia to teach and I would have missed some of the most amazing children that touched my life, and an incredible friendship with a friend unlike any other. Without her support I would have never had the strength to go through the torturous ordeal of relearning to eat in early 2009 when I had lost the ability to swallow, and I would be dependent on some sort of artificial nutrition. Without her I would not be me. I would not have my very keen sense of justice, my heart for others, my willingness to risk getting hurt to love those who need it, my passionate way of living life, my foundation of faith, my wicked sense of humor, and so much more.
So not only has my mother given me life more times that we can count, but she has shaped that life and given me the strength and support to be the person I have become. I an blessed to be her daughter, honored to be her friend.

This weekend I was kidnapped by Prince Charming and abducted by (suv) horse drawn carriage to his very nice (house) castle. Yesterday the royal chef was on strike so we took the carriage to town to obtain the noon meal from an absolutely amazing Italian restaurant. Apparently because he is royalty, a special arrangement was made for entertainment to be provided with the delicious meal. Shortly after we were seated an old couple arrived and after negotiating which table would meet their needs (not the one with too much sunlight, or the one directly underneath the ceiling fan, or the one in the corner), our entertainment began. They were adorable in the way that two people become when they have been in love and together for so long that they virtually cease to exist as a separate entity. Here is a sample of the entertainment:

Mr: What's Lasagna?
Mrs: Its the big noodles with cheese, in layers.
Mr: Does it come with anything?
Mrs: Tomato sauce, but not chicken or anything.
Mr: Okay.
(about 30 seconds later)
Mr: What's lasagna?
Mrs: Its the big noodles with cheese and sauce.
Mr: Oh, I like that. What are you getting?
Mrs: I think I am going to get lasagna, its one of my favorite things here.
Mr: What's lasagna?
Mrs: The big flat noodles, cheese, tomato sauce.
Mr: I am going to get lasagna.
Waitress: How are we doing? Are we ready to order?
Mrs: Yes, I would like to have the lasagna.
Waitress: And do you want soup or salad with that?
Mrs: Salad please.
Waitress: And for you sir?
Mr: What's lasagna?
Waitress: It is layers of pasta and cheese in a tomato sauce.
Mr: I will have lasagna.
Waitress: And soup or salad?
Mr: What kind of soup do you have?
Waitress: Vegetarian minestroni or ham and artichoke.
Mr: Minestroni please.
Mrs: What did I order?
Waitress: You ordered the lasagna and a side salad.
Mrs: Oh, okay. I think I will have that.
Mr: What's lasagna?

I do believe the waitress could have brought them scrambled eggs and they would have believed that is what they had ordered, or that scrambled eggs were lasagna. They continued to have hilarious debates and discussions throughout the meal, including a segment on how a family member is always feeling great when speaking to Mr. but feeling horrible when speaking to Mrs., which must mean she does not give him enough money. Also debated was the existence of "crooks" in the world, and whether or not a husband and wife can ever have separate vacations. Mr. was Archie Bunker given flesh and bone, and Mrs. was his perfect foil. They were our court jesters, the perfect comedic entertainment for an incredibly delicious meal. I have decided that I want to one day have a Mr. in my life, and I want to be a Mrs. and I want someone to grow senile with me.