meditations of a blueberry

There is a saying about friends that has been in my heart since I was a teenager. "Some friends are there for a lifetime, some for a season." It's true, but it's more than that. Some friends are the taxi cabs in our lives. They don't always take us where we want to be, and sometimes they turn out to not be who we thought they were. Sometimes they turn out to be creepy and we rejoice moving on, and sometimes we are sad their time in our lives is over. Some friends are the lighted traffic signs in your life, directing you on your journey. They do not follow you, but they point out the way. They are the guide posts that direct us, the maps that help us through. Some friends are our reflections. We see what we need to see when we look at them. Sometimes we don't like what we see, but if we are honest with ourselves, we know we need it.  Some friends sit with you in the quiet depths of your soul. They know you. Intimately. They recognize ...

It's been awhile. The last months have been busy and full and scary at times. We had an experience that has made us unbelievably grateful for public health care. It's not perfect, but when we needed it, it was there. Back in April, after a barrage of tests in the ER and an order to go to the Stollery Children's Hospital the next morning, E was diagnosed with HSP. HSP is a self resolving illness that affects blood vessels which in turn causes nasty rashes, intense joint pain, and bad stomach cramps. It can take a few weeks to a few months to clear out. The only treatment is supportive, giving Advil several times a day along with ice and heat packs. We seem to be mostly out the other side. He still needs to be followed up with his doctor for a year (it reoccurs in about 50% of cases, usually more mildly), but besides a few instances of stomach cramps a few times a week, he is much better. He was in so much pain. He couldn't walk or bend his legs. Some days he couldn...