A Fish Out of Water

I discovered two straight hours of kayaking is a little much, maybe even more than a little. I was wiped out the rest of the day. But that was ok. We visited with Mom K a while and I edited my next book. Neither required much movement. I'd already cleaned the house in preparation for my son Matt and his wife Karissa blasting through for one late night stay and then a meal with us before dashing back to law school. I could just lollygag about and think about the strange sight I had seen while kayaking too long and too far.

I had seen all the usual wonderful things- herons, osprey dive bombing for fish, turtles poking their heads out of the water to watch me. But as I skimmed along the shore line, I saw a fish in a tree. Now that is not something you see every day. He was dangling from a fishing line high above my head. Well, it might have been a 'she'. It is not easy to tell with fish. But for sure, he or she should not have been in a tree.

I knew I would not last till the wee morning hours when Matt and Karissa were due to arrive on their one day blast out of Dallas. I had gone to bed. They arrived around 2 a.m. Arvo waited up for them, as he is a night owl anyway. At 6 am, we got a call from the Nursing Home. Mom K had fallen again, and with every fall they are required to take her to the ER. So with maybe 4 hours of sleep, Arvo hurried off to meet her at the hospital. This is her second fall and ER visit in as many weeks. This one was not serious, no stitches like the last fall. This time, she was unhurt. The next time, she might not be. Old age makes all of us feel like a fish out of water.

What do we do? They don't have enough staff to answer immediately even if she had a sensor buzzer that alerted them when she tried to get up. Such a device would be useless unless they knew they could get there right away. Neither she nor we can afford 24 hour 'sitters' to watch her every move. She cannot legally be restrained in a bed or chair, with good reason. That would open a whole world of potential abuse in less worthy senior Homes. What to do? Right now, I feel as helpless as that fish dangling in the tree.

So I did the only thing right now that I know to do. I prayed. And I wondered about how that fish ended up in a tree.

Nahum 1:7 (NIV)
The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,





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