Beyond the Blue Horizon

Joel Glidewell to the Rescue

Most years I leap into June. It's my birth month, after all, so always has been my favorite. A couple of weeks ago though I said "rabbit" hesitantly when I awoke June 1. I doubted that even my "rabbit habit" would bring me luck. Three months of ongoing sciatic pain had choked my optimism. Now, everyday tasks seemed insurmountable. I'd survey the dusty house, the weedy yard and my dismal self...and see nothing but decay.

Then on June 5, the fourth anniversary of my late husband's death, Ken's indefatigable spirit from The Great Beyond, sent me a message...his backyard rosebush, so scraggly last year, suddenly burst into bloom. Moreover, every day since, more blossoms have erupted. It's now a crimson circus.

It got better. Joel Glidewell, the son of Ken's former hospice nurse, came home from college for the summer and offered not only to mow the lawns and pastures, but to weed and trim shrubs and be a regular Joel-of-All-Trades. He even brought along his little sister, Jessie, a recent grad of Colville High, to help with the serious uprooting of the infestation of dandelions and crabgrass that had prevented me from sowing zinnia seeds this spring. By yesterday afternoon they'd completed clearing away most of the mess.

Then I had a phone call from the office of an orthopedic specialist I'd hoped to see for an epidural cortisone injection, a procedure that's been effective in relieving sciatica when physical therapy, rest and other interventions fail. He can do the procedure next week, I learned, but I'd need to have somebody drive me to his Spokane office, a 140-mile round trip from here. I momentarily despaired, but thought of Joel. His day off from his regular summer job at an assisted living facility here fortuitously just happens to be Tuesday. Once again Tuesday could be my good news day, because he's agreed to accompany me to the appointment next week.

They say it's always darkest before the dawn, but recently I've not put much credence in "they." "They" have been less than 100% accurate on so many sure bets recently...why, look at the NBA playoffs, where the supposedly unbeatable Heat nearly tumbled to the Pacers, and have fallen behind 1-2 to San Antonio!

Nonetheless, when I went out to move sprinklers in the dogs' yard, I noticed that there's not an inch of Ken's rosebush that isn't covered with blooms. And when I checked Facebook, my stepson had posted that the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs that had forced him and his wife to evacuate two days ago hadn't reached his neighborhood. His home is on the safe list, for  now.

Maybe everything's coming up roses!

Ken's cheering me on from The Great Beyond!