Medically uninteresting 24 hours. I was really achy and sore last night after having the kids visit and I ended up taking some tylenol to help and then I slept the best I have since I got here. A few nights ago, I wrote about the book I have been reading at night, Trusting God with St. Therese. I thought today I’d show you some of the artwork that has come to decorate my walls.
Starting on the left (somewhat cut off) is a painting of St. Gianna that my mom bought for us after we had our first scare back almost 6 weeks ago now. I really didn’t know much about St. Gianna’s story, although I was aware of who she was. A friend passed along a prayer card, another friend told me to read the story behind her canonization miracle, and the rest was (as they say) history. Bringing it to the hospital was a great idea as it has been a great conversation starter. My night nurse last night and my day nurse today were both Catholic but had never heard of her before.
Next to St. Gianna is a painting of St. Therese that Aidan did several weeks ago. On the back of the door is St. Catherine of Siena painted by Kylee (with a few extra brush strokes in the skirt courtesy of Lucie). Next to the TV is a little St. Anne shell/art project that Lucie did during our weekly Catholic co-op a few weeks ago. Brining it was a bit of an accident, as after class I had thrown it in with some other papers that I happened to bring with me. When she visited yesterday she kept pointing at it and patting her chest saying “Mine, mine” and shaking her head at me. It was adorable to the max.
Decorating the walls even just this little bit has helped me feel a little more at *home* and I’m glad that I did it. It was on the list of pre-admission tips I heard from someone or read somewhere.
I took my two-hour *pass* today to walk to confession and Mass at a nearby (less than 2 blocks) parish. Tim spent all day with me as his mom is here helping right now. He worked, I napped, we went to Mass. Not a very exciting day but nice to have company for the entire day. He won’t be able to visit again until Monday afternoon, but I’ve had a few friends say they might be able to stop by tomorrow.
I recognized that little St. Anne right away and I'm glad that it made it to your hospital room. What a wonderful idea, to decorate like that. I love that picture of St. Gianna – what a beautiful reminder to you of the saints' intercession.