Margret Sloan

The past two days have been unbearably hot. Yesterday it was 108 degrees and today it hit 111 degrees, and I think it topped out just about the time that we arrived at the cemetery and had to stand out in the blazing sun for the graveside ceremony. Thankfully, we had a little of the legendary high plains wind to take the sting of the sun away.

I’m sure the heat isn’t so bad if you get used to it, but we are accustomed to being inside an air conditioned house or office. My sister-in-law has air conditioning, but a lot of the old farmhouses out here do not. She keeps the thermostat much higher than we do at home, and it was uncomfortably warm the entire visit. I would much rather be too hot than too cold, but I sure wish there had been a more gradual adjustment to the temperatures.

It seems there is always some wind, which is very different from back home. The wind is a good thing for a lot of reasons and one of the most unique and rewarding good things is that some companies are now harnessing that wind by erecting huge wind turbines. They look like space age windmills and are generating electricity for the power companies.

My sister-in-law has a lovely little home in a close-knit neighborhood. Everyone has come over to say hello and they’ve brought enough food to feed an army. One neighbor even cut the grass for her without asking or any fuss about it. That’s one of the nice things about living in a small town – you get a lot of support from friends and neighbors when you have bad things happen in your life.

The florist has brought flowers and plants to her home and also to the funeral home. I’m not sure what I can do to help, but hubby is really glad to be here.

Even though she’s technically living “in town” her property backs up to a huge farm. Here’s a picture I snapped from her backyard as the sun was going down:

Wow, we finally arrived after two longs day’s drive. Hubby did all the driving – I think he needed the driving to keep his mind and hands busy so he doesn’t dwell on the fact that we are going to his mother’s funeral. We got all the way to Shawnee, OK before we caved and found a hotel room to get some sleep.

Luckily, there were plenty of billboards along the highway and we knew there would be a Hampton Inn at the Shawnee exit. We’ve had several good experiences at Hampton Inns now that they’ve upgraded their properties and their bedding. The beds are incredibly comfortable – it is like sleeping on a warm cloud. Plus, most of them offer a complimentary full breakfast in the morning, with sausage patties and hot eggs and a full array of other breakfast foods, including hot and cold cereals, pasties, yogurt, fresh fruit and very tasty coffee.

We got into LaVergne about 4:00 in the afternoon and found my sister-in-laws house very easily. We are settling in and expect to be pretty busy over the next couple of days. It’s nice to be here but wish it wasn’t for a sad occasion.

When the phone rings really late at night it is never good news. I actually hate to even answer a phone that rings any time between midnight and 7:00 am. It’s going to be bad news, and sure enough around midnight we got a call that we didn’t want to get. My mother-in-law passed away suddenly and unexpected.

Today we’ll be getting things in order around the house so we can leave for Oklahoma. My sister-in-law has offered up her spare bedroom and we need to get out there as soon as possible to help with the funeral. Hubby has to get someone to cover for him at work and I have to find the church clothes and arrange for a kennel for Buster Brown.

I’ll check the airfares to Oklahoma City, but there are rarely good rates without at least 2 weeks notice. More than likely we will drive, which is a hard 18 hours on the road, but the price of 5 tanks of gas and 2 nights in a hotel room halfway there is still much cheaper than two round trip plan tickets at full fare.

There’s a commercial airing now that strikes close to home. It’s called “Stand Up To Cancer” and shows dozens of different TV and movie stars standing up solemnly where the narrator speaks the message. It brought back memories of my own fight against cancer and how much I owe my mother and stepfather for their help and support during that awful time.

My cancer treatments were completely debilitating. I could barely function at all for four months while I underwent intensive radiation therapy. There was no way I could work at all, or even take care of my family. It was horrible to be so sick, helpless, and dependent on others with no real timeline or even hopeful prognosis for a recovery. Thanks to my parents and my grandmother, and the best doctors in the world, I was able to get through those terrible months, but the bills pilled up and that was probably the worst financial situation I’ve ever been in and recovering from a serious illness plus recovering from extreme financial distress took a very long time.

For some people in similar or sadly worse situations, all they can do is run up the bills for as long as they can and then try to file for Bankruptcy. I know there have been recent changes to the bankruptcy laws that make it more difficult to file, but I surely hope that honest people who have to face a serious or life threatening illness still have some hope of help with their finances.

I know that if anyone in my family or circle of close friends has to go through what I did, that I will be there at their side to help them through it as much as I possibly can. That’s what family and real friendship is for.