From the Heart
They say that you make plans … and then life happens.
And so it was that Chuck and I had planned to attend, on Friday night, the 150th Anniversary Spaghetti Dinner for Noblesville Schools and the Noblesville vs. Hamilton Southeastern basketball game.
I knew just what I was wearing to show my black and gold spirit for the Noblesville Millers. I knew that my husband, being the former school superintendent for Hamilton Southeastern, would be wearing red, white and blue.
Chuck would be sitting on an HSE Royals seat cushion. Me? I still have my Noblesville Miller/Don Hinds Ford cushion from the 1980s.
We joked about where we would be sitting. We just knew it would be together.
It was about 4:30 on Friday afternoon, I was at work, in the middle of the paperwork for selling a car.
I looked down at my phone. Somehow, I had missed a call from the nurse at Prairie Lakes. My heart dropped. I knew it wasn’t a good thing.
When I called back, the nurse informed me that my mom had fallen. The Noblesville Fire Department EMS was on its way.
I got there in record time. (No, I did not speed.) The lights were green and the roundabouts were clear.
The paramedics were lifting Mom into the ambulance when I pulled into the parking lot. She waved and smiled. She’s a tough lady.
As I sat there in the waiting room of the ER at Riverview Hospital, I thought of how quickly life can change. We make plans and then we get a phone call.
I missed supporting my friend Mikki Perrine, who owns Ginger’s, and was catering the spaghetti dinner. I missed seeing my PE teacher, Mrs. Hepner, and my high school friend, Terry Coomer, get inducted into the Noblesville High School Hall of Fame. I missed seeing my granddaughter, Abby Baker, be honored as a member of the NHS Girls Soccer Team that won the State Soccer Finals.
BUT …
I was there for my sweet mama. I held her hand and reassured her that she would be taken care of. I made sure the ER nurse got her a warm blanket to warm her broken body and her weary, hurting soul.
Mom noticed that I was dressed up a bit. She said, “Oh, Janet, I am so sorry I messed up your plans. Where were you going?”
I explained that it was to a ballgame. I told her there would be more ballgames. Sometimes you don’t have to tell your mother everything. All that mattered was that she was safe and knew I would always be there for her.
There will be more plans made. They will be canceled.
There will be more phone calls that I will receive. I will answer. I will show up. It’s what this daughter will always do. And of course, I will smile. It’s what my mother taught me.