Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Oops (01/14/10)
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TITLE: Something Wrong Here | Previous Challenge Entry
By Carol Penhorwood
01/19/10 -
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When the EMTs arrived at our home, my mother was in bad shape. They asked to see what I had been giving her. I showed them the prescription bottle of liquid I had been doling out with such care. I could tell by the way they looked at each other that something was very, very wrong here...
The pharmacy had given me cough medicine.
After a short term in the hospital, it was soon apparent that my mother would be moved to a hospice where they were better able to care for her last days. My siblings all lived out of town, but being a close, loving family, they faithfully arrived to stay each weekend in our home so they could not only spend time with our mother but also support me.
Even though Mother was unconscious all during her stay at hospice, I was convinced she could hear at least some of what we said to her. There were even times we would gather around her bed as her children (and the in-laws were as much her children or more) and sing hymns we knew she would love. Oh, those were precious times together!
One evening as my sister, Jeanne, and her husband, Joe, my husband, and I were leaving the hospice parking garage, we ran into a little dilemma. We couldn't get out! It was late in the evening and all the attendants had gone home. The parking gate was down and wouldn't let our car go through. There was a coin box to the left of the driver's window, so Joe asked Jeanne for a quarter, but still the gate arm did not go up! In went another quarter. Nope. No movement. We kept feeding quarters into that box and could hear them hitting bottom. But no result.
Finally Joe and my husband got out of the car and dismantled that parking gate. Joe got back in the car and as the car moved forward just a few inches, the stub of the parking gate arm went up!
Oops!
They quickly reassembled the gate and we scurried out of there!
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As I read, i was sure the main point of the story was going to be about your dear mother - when you started talking about the gate issue, it was almost a "let-down." Your tone seemed to change almost too soon. My thoughts, anyway - take 'em or leave 'em.
Very good descriptions!
Nice job with this emotional ride. Kudos!
The mood change threw me--I think it's because I wanted some closure with the medicine incident.
How wonderful that there can be humor within sadness!
Mona
I also wanted closure on the medication error.
However, on my second reading, I felt quite different. Mother was being looked after and the family were able to have a laugh together. "Laughter doeth good like a medicine." Nice work.