Rosie's Room

There is always something to be grateful for!

And really, there is always more than just one thing to be grateful for!  Today I'm thinking of some of the people in my life that I'm grateful for being in my life.  My tiny family - my wonderful husband, Sal, and equally as wonderful daughter and grandson, and some very, very, wonderful friends that all together make my life that much sweeter.  Today I want to give a particularly loud and grateful shout-out to my friend, Carolee, who I know will read my blog post sometime soon.  As soon as she unpacks her luggage after returning from attending the SU convention in Salt Lake and after she rests up a bit before she's off and running again.

Where I left off in my posting was my telling you about the spirit of "Jimmy" who resided in Jessie's apartment.  I can't tell you how many times I thought to share my Jimmy stories with Carolee but then decided to keep the stories to myself for fear of sounding like I just took a dive into the deep end of the proverbial pool.  Until one day I thought that I was being silly in not sharing my strange stories with her.  Carolee, as I know her and love her for it, is an open-minded, understanding, accepting woman who has a heart of gold.  So I told her my stories, and I also shared with her that I spoke to a priest at St. Francis about the Jimmy situation.  That priest ended up scaring me more than providing me with any sense of comfort.  He didn't scare me about Jimmy and I was never fearful of Jimmy, he scared me about the "what if" scenarios that could happen after Jimmy would, assuming he would, vacate the premises.  That priest also told me to find a priest in Sheboygan to deal with the situation.

Carolee, as it turns out, has a cousin who happens to be priest.  Father Conrad.  She spoke to him about Jimmy and then gave me his phone number to pass along to Jessie.  After Jessie and Father checked their schedules they set a date for the house blessing to take place.  That happened last Thursday, on July 23.  I was present and Carolee would have been, too, if she wouldn't have been at the SU convention.  I'm sorry she couldn't attend, time spent with Carolee is always good, and I wish she would have witnessed what I'll tell you later on in this post.

I was on my way to Jessie's when she sent me a text saying that Father was already at her place, that he was early.  I was in my car, alone, and burst out laughing when I read her text.  I don't text and drive but I will read a very short text sent to me while I'm driving in case someone is contacting me having an emergency situation.  I do this because of my husband, because of his cardiac problems. Anyway I sped up a bit and got to Jessie's place.

I ring out my Hello and opening the door find Father sitting with Jessie's friend, Tou, (pronounce his name like the number two).  I introduce myself and the next thing I say is to ask Father if he's sure he's related to Carolee...cause he's early.  He laughed a good belly laugh and if there was any sort of ice that needed to be broken it was broken immediately.  I knew at first glance that Father is every bit as wonderful as Carolee is!  Still, I couldn't help myself by cracking this joke.

Milo had just woken up so Jessie was tending to him while I joined Father and Tou at the kitchen table to share more Jimmy stories.  I have my own Jimmy stories to tell, but if Milo could really speak he'd have the most.

Father began the blessing with Jessie taking him on a tour of the apartment.  I brought Milo something new for him to play with, a water paint book and a water brush, in case he might need to have his attention diverted while the serious work was going on.  Milo enjoyed painting with me but he wanted to do it sitting on my lap, which made me enjoy his painting even more.  Milo did just wake up and soon he was too hungry to want to keep painting and not want his mama to feed him some breakfast so she filled his juice cup and gave him a bowl of cheerios, giving him something quick and easy to eat so she could stay involved in the blessing.

I'm not quite sure how the next thing happened so I'll just tell it to you as best I can.  Father's last portion of the blessing took place outside of the bathroom.  A lot of Jimmy antics took place in the bathroom, funny antics but one incident wasn't at all funny and it involved Milo.  Father had asked me to stand with him outside the bathroom and hold his crucifix.  Within a moment Milo came to me and held onto the bottom portion of the crucifix.  I lowered my hold on the crucifix a bit more so Milo could more easily hold it with me. Jessie had come to us too then, at first thinking she'd have Milo go back into the kitchen. After seeing Milo she went back into the kitchen.

What Jessie saw was that Milo looked very intense and gazed into my eyes and I'd silently shook my head "yes" to him, letting him know he could participate too.  Milo never broke his gaze. All the while Father was saying his prayers Milo had locked eyes with me.  When Father was done saying his prayers I'd reached down and stroked the top of Milo's head and very quietly told him he was such a good boy. Together we'd handed Father the crucifix.  I'd thought at the time that if Jimmy were to leave the house to go to God, it would probably be because of the combination of Father's blessing and Milo, in his way telling Jimmy..."and this goes for me, too."
I wish Carolee would have witnessed this!

I'm happy to say that since Father left Jessie's that day there have been no more Jimmy stories to tell!
Father and Jessie made the plan that day to check back with each other in a week or so.  With each passing day I'm feeling more confident that when they speak again it will be to talk about things other than Jimmy.  Jessie has told me that after Father left she felt a sense of comfort in her home that she never has enjoyed.  She told me that for the first time since moving in she doesn't feel like someone is always watching her.  Milo has not once said, "immy."

I am grateful to Father Conrad more than I can express in words!
I am grateful to Carolee more than I can express in words!

So I will express my gratitude in a picture...

THERE IS ALWAYS ALWAYS SOMETHING, TO BE GRATEFUL FOR!