"I Ain't Never Been Shot This Many times Before."

Sometimes, a phrase just comes to mind. Maybe if I collected them all, I'd have a book. As it is, I have at least the chapter titles.

My sister would NEVER express herself this way; She's precious, sweet, adorable; she's well-educated. In fact, she teaches people who are going to be teachers.
And although she is a died-in-the-wool UGA Bulldog, I think she last used the word "ain't" at the Champagne Jam concert headlined by the Atlanta Rhythm Section in 1978.

However, today, and every single day for the past two months or more, this could have been her opening prayer to greet the day:

Dear Lord,
I ain't never been shot this many times before. What do I do? What am I GOING to do?
Amen.
Wendy

She's been married for 34 years to an amazingly gifted singer-songwriter-webpage designer you-name-it guy, who has always been in perfect health, and now he is very, very ill. And she is having to make critical, life-or-death decisions every day, it seems.

The only thing I know is that she WILL make it through this. I don't know how. I just know she will. I grieves me to see her struggle, and to know that she is the ONLY one who can make the choices she is going to have to make.

Here's another thing: even before this all started, I took a good look around, and I saw that there are a lot of other people out here who are bearing loads that seemed designed to crush them. My gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, and I have had our own crunches in the past few months; so have our children. And we know of others who are facing dreadful crunches of one sort or another.

One of my Facebook friends is a fellow chronic-pain sufferer. Every once in a while, I have to send her a message that says, "I'm having a really bad pain day today." I do that because she will understand what I'm going through, and it helps me, just enough, to know that there is another person out there who understands the price I'm paying today to keep it together.

Just as some of you know, from your own experience,  the price my little sister is paying today to keep it together.

She's really doing a marvelous job; she doesn't see that, but others do. And they all remember her in their hearts, and thoughts, and prayers. And I think it helps her, even when she feels empty and powerless.

Just so you will know for sure: there may come a day when you need that little bit of extra strength. Please feel free to do what I do with others: drop me a note, and say,

Pat, I'm having it rough today.
I ain't never been shot this many times before.

It will help me to know. Truly.

Peace be on your household.