Yesterday in NW Montana…

Yesterday was a long day. It started with a CPR call before 6 a.m. It continued to cleaning out the bays at the North Hall for a memorial for a former Bad Rock volunteer firefighter. We went home and changed and came back in our dress uniforms in support of the family.

In the late afternoon/early evening, we went to Whitefish for dinner and managed to see a magpie. There are not any cardinals where we live. People always say when a cardinal appears, a loved one is near. We had a ton of cardinals in Omaha. Here…none. So we joked about trying to find another bird to use instead. We see a lot of turkeys…which was a hysterical because I used to call my Joe a turkey a lot when he was little. Joe was my turkey and Tim was my ham. Either way, they kept life lively. Anyhow, Michelle had mentioned to me once that when she and Joe were in Colorado, the day before he died, she saw a magpie for the first time. Joe told her about them. They can be kind of annoying birds…I know they were in Norway around ISS where the kids went to school. However, they are pretty birds. That bird seemed more appropriate than a turkey. We saw a big one right in front of us when walking down the street in Whitefish. It had been a harder day, and my spirit was kind of lagging by that point. I think it was Joe trying to say he saw us and was there. Some people may say that is a load of hooey, but those folks probably haven’t lost a kid and will take signs when they see them. I also wanted to show you a view from downtown Whitefish, the town next to us. It is double the size of our nearest small town…Whitefish’s population is about 9500. It kind of looks like it belongs in a Hallmark movie, doesn’t it? You should see it during Christmas time…it is magical. There are lighted stars strung across the road with the snow-covered mountains in the background. It is pretty cool to see. Speaking of snow, we had about 4 inches on Thursday (surprise!) and today it is nearly 60. Tomorrow should be even warmer. Spring in the mountains and the valleys in between; you never know what to expect!

We leave for Rochester, MN and the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday very early. I have consults with a surgeon on Wednesday, and a consult with an oncology radiologist on Thursday morning. We’ll fly back and get home late on Thursday. I hope to have a better understanding of what the plan is and putting it into place. I will post on this blog when I have more news. It is a lot for me to wrap my head around mentally – what I am guessing my next several months will look like physically for me. As much as I know how much you all care, please let me talk to my kids and family first and then I will post here. It is so draining to have to go over everything over and over again every time someone sends a text or email. I am trying to get a place where everyone can keep up with everything that is not social media – so please check here. I will post as soon as I know anything and have talked to my kids first.