Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Time To Start Preparing The Cell Now

Motorcycles scare the snot out of me! I think they are dangerous and stupid. I have never ridden on one, and I have no desire ever to ride one now or in the future. Think about it: you're on the highway with 2+ ton vehicles all around you on nothing but a bicycle, with enough power that it propels you at 70 mph, and you're wearing a leather jacket and a helmet. One false move, and they're scraping you up off the pavement with a spatula and identifying your body by comparing DNA from the sludge on the road and your hairbrush at home. This is not the way I want to go. A little over a year ago, a young man who went to our church was riding his motorcycle home from work, when a car that didn't see him accidentally nicked the back of his tire sending him out of control and nearly decapitating him. He left a wife and two children who have been deeply hurt in so many ways I can't even tell you about it here. A couple of months later a man I grew up with was riding his motorcycle with a friend, the throttle stuck open, and he took a curve at excessive speed. He flew through a cable which took his arm off, and would have bled to death except that he landed in a way that clamped the artery in his arm. Obviously Launa is too young to understand the permanent consequences motorcycle riding can bring about. (I get that it's dangerous to barrel down the hwy in my Cavalier too, but at least there's some protection there.) But I'm still terrified! She has a thing for motorcycles and motorcycle men! She's four! Every time she sees a man with his motorcycle, I have to remind her to close her mouth and wipe her chin. It's a little funny. The last time she noticed a motorcycle man, it was a middle aged guy with a pot-belly. She started her "Ooooooh! Motorcycle man! He's so dreamy!" routine. I told her she wasn't allowed to bring a man like that home when she got to be older. She wanted to know why, so I told her that he was really old and hefty (no better time to begin prejudicial indoctrination in your children than when they're very young). I told her that if she were going to get herself killed on a motorcycle for some man, that he'd better be beautiful enough to be worth it. To which she replied, "Oh Mommy, it doesn't matter what he looks like! I would still love him!" (For his motorcycle.) Anyway, I do believe that I am going to have to lock her away once she gets old enough to date. I'll make it nice for her. I'll decorate her cell with flowers and costumes and she can have a kitten.

17 comments:

lizS said...

bwaaaaahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!!!

timpani76 said...

Omigosh, my dad used to ride motorcycles, and my brother in law rides one. They are so scary! I also have never ridden one. I have no idea how to get her away from this one. Good luck with that cell!

Mary said...

Right. And where did this ridiculous fetish come from?! I can only hope that sometime in the next 12 years she'll grow a brain. Thing is, I'm afraid the brain won't arrive in time. Hmm...what else should I add to her cell? Tv and the Internet are out. She doesn't need any reinforcement for her motorcycle love. Wait! Maybe I should put a tv in there, and run a continuous loop of footage from ghastly motorcycle accidents. Maybe that'll help.

Dana Cheryl said...

MC you make a really great case.

However, I think it's important to also make the point that we can't live in fear. When the time comes for us to go then we'll go regardless of where we're at or what we're doing... Our plane can crash, our motorcycle can crash, we can get cancer, we can have a deadly allergic reaction(I was simply sleeping in my own bed when I was bitten by a spider & come so close to dying that I touched the other side) or a tornado can hit (that's happened to me twice. someone's house ended up in my front yard the first time with the people still in it shaken but unharmed. i was at a restaurant the second time & saw it take down a huge factory just across the road. crazy!) or whatever.

All we can do is pray for safety & live our lifes as best we can. We can't avoid death or sickness or even injury.

Of course, that's not at all what you're really talking about...

I don't think you've have to worry much though. By the time Launa is dating there will be hover cars & bungee jackets that will prevent serious accidents. ;)

Mary said...

What kind of a spider was that?! Do you react to all spiders that way?

You're right though. The post is not about how I want her to live in fear of death, but the fact is that life is very fragile, and doing stupid things doesn't increase your chances of contributing to the gene pool. While I don't want my children to fear death, they are very precious to me,and I don't want to have to try to live the rest of my life without them.

Good point about the hover cars though. What'm I worrying about?! Death will probably be eliminated completely by the time she's 16! ;)

Mary said...

Who am I kidding? I am probably the most neurotic person you'll ever meet. I'm afraid of everything! Spiders, germs, heights, strangers, motorcycles, my kids' teeth growing in wonky, confrontation (can you believe that?), getting a B in one of my classes, someone not liking me (like that would ever happen!), driving my Cavalier on long drives next to much larger vehicles...what else? Liz, you can probably help complete this list better than I can.

Dana Cheryl said...

We're not for sure if it's all spiders or just the kind that got me. (although just fyi spiders in actuality sting, cool huh? i didn't know that til my incident.)

Despite that I still go hiking out in the middle of nowhere and go backbacking where all kinds of critters can bite me, sting me, etc... etc...

I'm not a phobic person (except for commitment & heights)but after the spider bite/sting & nearly dying in ER, the three weeks in the hospital followed by six weeks of round the clock care I developed a little phobia about spiders...

Until I served my mission... My apartment was literally infested with the very spiders that I'm deathly allergic to, crazy! I was doing crunches one morning when I noticed one on the wall & had a panic attack. After calming down I went hunting for them & they were in corners, in the cabinets, etc... I started freaking out. Oh boy!

Then I prayed and received clear inspiration. Heavenly Father said that I may be bitten again. I may even die. I may have to go through that pain again & not fully heal.

And let me just give a shout out to that pain...

The actual lining of my veins was affected, every injection of saline made me scream. I had several injections daily between rounds of epi, steriods, & antibiotics. I remember convulsing, the nurse saying that my lips & fingers were blue, and then getting cold. so cold... Not to mention the 6 1/2 inch patch of dying flesh across my chest. I was treated as having 2nd & 3rd degree burns & I was cared for by the ICU, Burn Specialists, respiratory specialists (all the tissue along the airways was affected)& doctors were called in from Louisville. They gave me morphine for the pain & then I had a reaction to it as well.

Yet, Heavenly Father told me that if He called me to endure then I could endure & if He called me Home then that was for the glory of His Kingdom & my benefit.

Something about dying taught me to live. It's cliche but it's cliche for a reason. It really happens. Life is such a gift!

We don't own our time. We only own some of what we choose to do with it because the choices of others will in fact infrige upon us. Yet, that's why we are here. We're here to have these experiences and thrive in spite of them because we turn to God and claim the atonement offered to us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

If a person drives the speed limit, pays attention, & obeys traffic laws then there is about an equal chance of dying regardless of what a person is driving. It's the same with other activities too. Be prepared, pay attention, don't be a dare devil, etc...

On the flip side I've seen people survive incredible circumstances. I've met people who's cancer has spontaneously been cured, who survived a gun shot point blank to the head & lived with NO lasting injury, and so on. I truly believe with everything inside of me that if we give ourselves up to God & have faith that He will keeps us here until our time is done then He will.

My mom is worried and anxious constantly. She worries about traveling, driving, hiking, walking, lightening, rain, snow, heights, new foods...

I've actually had dreams that she's smothering me with a pillow. I've given my life to God. I don't take crazy risks, however, I will live my life to the fullest. For me life without passion & new experiences & excitement isn't worth living.

I think it's incredibly brave that you posted your fears! It makes one vunerable to do that. Thanks for trusting us with it!!

Love ya lots!

Mary said...

I'm a complete basket case. I know it. You also have every right to be afraid of those spiders! I would not want to go through that again if I were you either! Do you have to keep an epi-pen handy (would it even help)?

I try not to be crazy over my fears, but I really think that a painful, untimely death would stink, so I try to avoid that. I don't think that I'm not living my life. Although big life changes scare me too. I wonder if that's why I'm still unemployed?

Dana Cheryl said...

Oh yeah! Epi pens are awesome. I have one in my bedroom, easily located in the dark. I have one in the main part of the house also easily located. I also carry one in my purse, backback, & car. Anyone going on a trip with me gets a crash course on how to use it just in case I become unconscious. Epi has saved my life more than once. Gotta love it!


Nah! I'm not gonna waste a single second of my mortal life worrying about spiders or being afraid of them.

I don't go around trying to provoke them or find them or anything and I do actively have my place of residence sprayed etc... etc... Oh and I do pull back my covers & look under my pillows every single night (I found a spider under my pillow back in the summer.)but that's the extent of it. Spraying, checking, living...

I'm not promised tomorrow or even the rest of the day... I don't want to lose an a single experience due to fear. This mortal existence is a one shot deal. I have a lot to learn here.

Dying is a beautiful experience! It truly is. Dying was utterly peaceful with just the slighted "Christmas morning feeling". (You know that excited feeling you see in little kids as they wake up and realize it's Christmas?) People were there with me. They came to get me. I have never felt more secure or loved or peaceful.

Living is much more hurtful and confusing.

Dying is more joyous than birth. It's the becoming...

I don't ever want to seek out that kind of pain but I've experienced it. My doctors told me that only a tiny fraction of people will ever truly feel that kind of pain. I don't know how to explain it, Mary, but God's grace was sufficent. I learned that Jesus Christ took upon all the pain & suffering we'd ever experience in addition to our sin. (Pain is a direct result of sin and thereby an extension of it.) I came to know beyond all certainty that during the atonement Jesus felt exactly what I was feeling. He came to me & relived it again. That pain drew me closer to the Jesus than any other experience in my life. I shutter to think that I could've lived my life without that blessed experience. NO! NO! NO! I would never give it up. Not ever.

Please go here...

nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

Scroll down to the right side of her page. You'll find a picture of a ticket with a drop down box...

Go to the first month & then read through her blog. I promise you it will change your life. I promise.

Mary said...

Well, I have gone to the blog, and have read quite a bit, but I think they must have cleaned out the archives, because there's a lot missing, and not much detail. I think that she was in a plane crash, and a coma for some time. I saw that there were pictures of this beautiful couple, and then pictures of that same couple terribly scarred. I saw that she was on Oprah. I'm gonna go back and try again, I may not have been scrolling through properly.

Anyway, yeah, there are a lot of things that I'm scared of, but just because I'm afraid of getting a B in a class doesn't mean I don't take classes, and just because I'm afraid that I'm gonna get crushed by an F150 in my Cavalier on the freeway doesn't mean I don't drive on it. It doesn't keep me from doing things or living my life.

Mary said...

Wait, I figured it out. I was hitting the "newer posts" button instead of going directly to the archives.

Dana Cheryl said...

I just went and checked out Nie's blog to make for sure the archives are still up. They are! Yay!!

The amazing thing about her blog is that when it starts in 2005 they're just a happy, happy young couple with three little kids. They have no idea what the future will hold for them. (I've been reading Nie for a long time.) It was Nie's blog waaaaayyyyy before the plane crash that helped me find the courage to want to be a mom. I've shared in years of her everyday life. No one knew what was coming and now we're all living it together.

I break down and cry in regards to Stephanie's life quite often. (Twice yesterday! Once today) Here's this woman... This incredible, loving, fiesty woman that helped me desire God's will for my life. She helped me see the beauty in the struggle & helped me realize that life is what I make it.

Then the crash...

I don't know why I work so earnestly to lead people to read her blog but I know that it has always inspired me to see the extraordinary in the everyday things. A whole new dimension has been added since the plane crash. I see God in it all and I have a deep desire for other's to see Him because He's easily found in her life.

I used to fear living. Every morning was a two hour fight to get out of bed because I just didn't know what would happen to me that day...

Then I one day I woke up feeling not quite right and I began to die... Dying is a life changing experience. (duh, right?!) I don't talk about it very often but it equals the impact of coming to know Christ. I know that Jesus is the Lord and I know that there is life after death. The process of dying was the most life affirming event I've ever experienced.

Please know that I don't expect other people to feel as I do. I just occasionally like to talk about it. My greatest wish for all those I love is that they'll someday feel in their hearts & live with their lives the idea..."Come what may & love it."

So often people ask me why I am happy. I can't really say, "because one time while I lay dying I realized the value of life..." It's just kinda awkward. lol!!!

I just have a testimony that unbearable pain can be withstood & that we can be grateful because all things work together for good... God's grace is entirely sufficient.

I don't want you to be afraid of anything. If I could take that and bear it for you I would. Of course, I know that we all have our life lessons to learn but still if I could take it I would.

You are so beautiful in your desire to love & serve. I admire you for so many things including your willingness to strive inspite of your fears. Your desire is to be as much like the Savior as possible. That desire is inspiring. I'm grateful for your friendship!!! I love you a lot.

Mary said...

It's going to take me a while to wade through her blog. It's been going for a very long time and there is a lot to read. She does look like a very fun girl, and amazing.

Dana, the more I learn about you, the more I am amazed that you're still here with us. You are not my only accident-prone sickie friend ( ;) ) and when I think about those people that have had illnesses and accidents that are so much worse than the junk I'm going through, I feel like a troglodyte for whining so much.

Thanks for saying all those nice things about me. I don't know how true they really are (not saying you're a liar, just that you only know me through this silly blog). I do feel like the queen whiner some days. Anyway. Thanks. :)

Mary said...

Nie's Jan 5, 2010 made me cry.

Dana Cheryl said...

Guess what?!

There was a freakin' spider in my bed when I pulled back the covers!!!!!!!!

The ick factor is staggering!

Yeah, it's no flipping coincidence that I spend the day talking about a spider that bit me as I sleeped and then find one in my bed. I've not found one in my bed since the summer. Stupid, stupid spiders invading my space!!! Urg!

Of course, I'm looking for spiders. I wonder how many people spend the night with them & never know it?! hmmmmm... I'll think about that later, lots later.

MC you are all the wonderful things that I described. During our late night talks via FB it was easy to tell what your heart really desires... Regardless of whether I know you in person or online you're still the same person!

I'm so glad you're reading Nie Nie... I'm rereading the entire blog too. I read a month of posts each day. Please go back to the very beginning and start from there. God's faithfulness to this family with strengthen and encourage you. It's clear to see how He was preparing them for the trials to come. I am constantly praising Him as I read... I'd love to share that with someone! Right now I'm up to November 2007.

I love my life so much. It's such a gift. I in no way want to give the impression that dying is trival. We're here to live and I truly want all the mortal experiences I need in this lifetime. I was just really blessed to have an experience that brought me a lot of assurance about the transition into the next life. However, I'm really, really OK with that transition happening waaaaaay in the future or not at all. I'd really like to be here with Christ returns!

Mary said...

Yucky! I can't believe you found a spider in your bed that day! XP You're making me consider shaking out my covers every night! Ick, ick ick!!

Dana Cheryl said...

It's not a bad idea. I pull my covers all the way back and check the sheets, the I look under the pillows, and inside of the pillow cases. I've found spiders or other icky bugs more than once. Ick, Ick, Ick!!!!!