Back to Normal?

     Yesterday was two years since Daddy passed away. Where has the time gone? What have I been doing all that time? I know what I was doing. We were coping, dealing with the day-to-day, because we never knew what the day would bring. My husband lost both his parents in nine months of each other (November and August), and my Daddy in the midst of that (March). My daughter moved out in January, and in October her home burned (she was living with family at the time). My sister was seriously injured and lost all she had in the storms last April. I spent the rest of the year just trying to get back to "normal," whatever that is.
     But normal wasn’t the same as it had been before. I found myself stressing over things I hadn’t before, like family gatherings and travel plans. I lost interest in taking care of household chores (which, honestly, wasn’t a big stretch). I was afraid to help in church activities, Vacation Bible School, Harvest Festival, Christmas program, because something would probably come up. But I told myself this past January that I would have to become recommitted this year and rejoin the world around me. So far I’ve started this blog, I signed up to help with Vacation Bible School this summer, I’ve already got reservations for summer vacation and the church trip to Gatlinburg. I helped my daughter move, I am helping plan a baby shower for a co-worker, and I’m looking forward to helping my niece with her wedding.
     Last night I got my sign that maybe I’m "on the road to recovery." Feeling a little down in the dumps, lost and lonely on the anniversary of Daddy’s passing, I went to church. It was the first night of our revival and we had great expectations that something big would happen. We started singing "Amazing Grace" and my 10-year-old son, who had been quite content playing with his toys on the seat beside me, turned and stood by me. On the last "Praise God" verse, he lifted his hand and sang too. I could have shouted right then if God had let me. Instead, he had another surprise.
     We get ready to leave and my son shows me where he has drawn a smiley face on my back windshield (a good coat of March pollen gives children a great drawing board). Under normal circumstances, this would require the child to wash my vehicle. (After all, if he’s got time and energy to draw on it, he should have time and energy to wash it, right?) But as we were driving to school this morning, I noticed that every time I looked in my rearview mirror that smiley face is smiling back at me. I really needed it this morning, so I think I’ll let it ride a while.