JESSIE'S VEGAS

Our third child graduated high honors from high school and I am profoundly grateful for an omniscient God who packs not toys in his bag of tricks, but miracles.  When Alyssa was young, she was diagnosed with Tourette's disorder and CAPD(central auditory processing disorder) so she could not always control how she reacted to situations.  It was a taxing time as she was not the only one in the house with neurological troubles.  In fact, she seemed to fight everyday with her older sister that had Asperger's.  Listening to them squabble reminded me of the time I had a patient from China who fired her doctor from India. She said, "I cannot understand a word she is saying. Are you sure she is speaking English?" I realized both of them had heavy accents based on the world regions from where they hailed.  They would become exasperated trying to understand one another. I think my older daughter, Lauren, did not understand the Tourette's dialect just as much as

Search:   Go! “Alyssum” I walk out my front door and pretend not to look at my flower pots that should be gracing my front stoop in vibrant, dripping colors. To say my thumb is not green, but maybe black is an understatement. I apologize to my former friends for the neglect and utter parchment they have faced with the warmer temperatures. I notice out of the corner of my eye, that a speck of life still remains. “There is a hero in this arid soil! Who could this be?” I exclaim to myself. My eyes fill with tears as I realize it is the Alyssum that has conquered the bright noonday and ravages of the Idaho wind. It’s tiny white blossoms overflow the edge of my pot and take over the empty space the deceased marigolds and moss left behind. I laugh at my emotion. I am sentimental, but not usually over foliage. No, my tears are for another Alyssum that has bloomed in the midst of life’s scorchi