Heaven and Back

I was watching the Today Show this week and saw an interview with Dr. Mary Neal who wrote a book called Heaven and Back. Those of you who know me know that I am obsessed with heaven. I want to know where Jason is, what he is experiencing, but I haven't been candid about one of the burning questions in my mind since his death. What did he experience on that lonely Nebraska highway? Was he scared? Was he aware of what was happening? If so, did he feel regret, sadness, joy? This woman is highly educated, an orthopedic surgeon, and her to heaven and back experience is unlike any I have ever read. She was under water for 15 minutes, so her experience can't be explained the way others have been. Many believe that the "follow the light" kind of experiences are physiological or psychological, the body's and mind's coping mechanism. She adamantly disregards that because she is a scientist and knows that there's no way her body could have come back from being under water for 15 minutes. The best thing I read was her experience of being escorted to Heaven by angelic beings, of not being at all frightened, of wanting to keep going, and of thinking that she had a choice of whether to go back or continue. I have a difficult time thinking about Jason wanting to leave us, but my logical mind that knew him well thinks that that's a possibility, especially if his reception team included his grandad, his granny and pa, my sisters, and Andrea Sigman, his high school love. He had experienced so many losses in his life, significant losses. What did he have here? He had a family who loved him, but at the moment of choice, he may have realized that we will all join him someday. Time in heaven, according to all I've read, is not like time here. From the accounts I've read, minutes in heaven feel like hours on earth. If that is true, did he know that he was only going to be in heaven a matter of weeks before we would all join him? Was he so drawn by those who loved him in the purity of heaven that he was able to leave this fallen world? At first, thinking that he had a choice hurt my feelings, but I've been pondering. What would my choice be? If I were looking into eternity and I saw my parents, sisters, and Jason, would I be able to turn back. I don't want to leave this life. I still have things to do, I still have two children and a husband that I want to share this life with, but what a temptation. Leave the cares, worries, tragedies of this life in exchange for heaven. I can't tell her entire story, but I highly recommend it. I have an abiding faith, so I don't need proof that all I believe is true, but I do like to read stories like hers. I don't think anyone would write a story like hers if they weren't convinced that their story is one that must be told. Why would a woman of science expose herself to the scrutiny and skepticism that surely will come her way? I'm thankful for her courage.

New Orleans or Bust! Planes, trolleys, automobiles, pedicabs, trains.

If you follow me on Facebook, none of this will be news to you. In case you ]don't, I just made a trip to New Orleans to the High Schools that Work Conference. Talk about an eventful trip. First, Christina Spurgin and I were the only two who could get away this summer to go, so we decided we would fly instead of drive. There were a couple of reasons for our decision. First, our school vans are getting kind of old, and I didn't really want to take off for a twelve hour drive through Louisiana in an iffy vehicle, especially with just two women. OK, maybe my dad had more influence on me than I realized. He always felt better if he knew that a "man" was going to be on a trip with us, even if that man had no mechanical skills whatsoever. I left my house at 5:00 A.M. Wednesday, picked up Christina and headed to the airport for a 7:30 flight. Because of a storm in Houston, our plane did not leave OKC on time which caused us to miss our connecting flight in Houston to New Orleans. We were able to get on a flight to Baton Rouge, rent a car and drive in to New Orleans. Amazingly, our luggage was waiting for us at the New Orleans Airport when we arrived there. We then had to pay a ridiculous 38.00 each for a round-trip airport shuttle because our hotel did not have shuttle service. We finally arrived at our hotel about 8ish. Our original plan was to be in New Orleans by noon and attend the conference that afternoon. Now for the hotel, the -call center (in India?) that booked our reservations assured us that the hotel was right across from the Convention Center. There was a Hilton Garden Inn accross from the Convention Center, but it was not the one that had our reservations. No, we were 15 blocks from the convention, in New Orleans, where the temperature is 95 and the humidity is 100%. We looked and felt great by the time we arrived at the convention both days. The hotel staff was nice, accomodating, and apologetic, but they could do nothing about the mixup. We left the hotel and walked to find a place to eat, had a nice dinner, went back to hotel and crashed. The next morning we walked down to the convention, attended several sessions, walked to Johnny's for a muffaletta, shopped near Cafe Du Monde, had beignets. We tried to get on a trolly that would take us closer to our hotel. We were standing on the platform, being polite, waiting for the people to get off. We had our $1.25 in our hands. All of the sudden, the doors closed, and the trolley took off. So we rode back to the hotel on one of those pedicabs (felt sorry for the poor guy who had to pull us). We rested and cleaned up. Late that night we went to Deanie's for seafood. We had an hour wait, but it was completely worth it. Friday morning we headed back to the convention and attended several more sessions, ate our famous HSTW boxed lunch, went to a couple more sessions and headed out to shop for souvenirs. We rode the trolley this time. We were a little more aggressive getting on. We headed into the stores to shop, and probably hadn't been in there five minutes when we looked out and realized that it was pouring down rain. So...we hired a cab to take us to the hotel. We got back to the hotel around 4:00 to meet our shuttle. The craziest driver in all history sped through New Orleans to take us to the airport. We both were a little queasy by the time we got to the airport. Guess what, because of delays in Houston, we were stranded in the airport for several hours. Then we made it to Houston and encountered even further delay. Our plane finally took off for OKC at 11:30. We had been joking about the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, but we hadn't ridden a train. As soon as we made it through security, we were told that we had to board a train to get to our gate. It was far, far away from the main part of the airport with no food available. Crazy! When they finally announced that we should board, about 30 people started singing Oklahoma! Two groups were coming back from mission trips, so I know they were ready to get home. The singing abruptly stopped when we were escorted out on the tarmac to board a very small plane to take us to OKC. Classic. On a good note, HSTW convention did just what it is supposed to do. We both started talking about next year; we began discussing and sharing ideas that we learned at the sessions. And...maybe most importantly, it gave two colleagues a memory that will bond us even more than we were before. I'm blessed to work with such a dedicated teacher. Next years' convention is in Charlotte. That is a long way to drive, but I'm thinking it may be worth it to avoid all the transportation glitches.

I'm Still Here

I haven't posted on my blog in many, many months. Why? I don't know. Writer's block? Maybe. Nothing to say? Not likely. Uneventful life? Possibly. I think sometimes of a subject that I might blog about; then I think of the people out there reading it, and I realize that what I have to say might not need to be written every time. I'm going to New Orleans tomorrow through Friday with Christina Spurgin, a former student who is now a colleague and a workout buddy. We are going to the High Schools that Work Summer Conference, so we will hit the floor running tomorrow morning about 4:30 and continue to run until about 10:15 Friday night when we fly in to OKC. I plan to eat some really good NOLA food. I want to meet for dinner with another former student, now friend, Annie Lombardi. I don't think we'll have time for much sight-seeing or shopping, so let's just say the food and fellowship will be the focus of our three day whirlwind trip. I have been to NOLA once before, so I plan to visit Cafe Du Monde for beignets more than once. I want to eat a muffaletta and some really good shrimp. I'd like to hear some live jazz. The chances that I'll do all of these things when I only have two evenings might be slim, but the food is a certainty. I made jam yesterday and thought of Jason. He loved homemade jelly and jam and would always consider a jar from my mom to be a wonderful gift. He pressured me to learn to make it, but I only made it a few times for him. Now, when I make jelly or jam I wish I could call him and tell him to come for a visit to pick up a few jars. I'll bet he's eaten some wonderful jam made by his Granny from flawless fruit. I'll bet her kitchen in heaven is state of the art. She doesn't have to have that great big fan blowing on her while she cooks. I had such a huge mess to clean up last night. Somehow I can't quite imagine a mess in heaven. This summer is flying by. I'm enjoying having a productive, restful, summer, but looming ahead of me is the reality that it will end soon. I usually don't start getting ready for school to start back until Aug. That's when I start seeing school supplies and get that little thrill. My mind starts rethinking my previous lessons and deciding what I keep and what I disregard. However, while it's still July, I'm going to enjoy my freedom. Freedom to go to the Y at 7:00 AM, freedom to stay up late if I want, freedom to take off to meet a friend for lunch, freedom to read for pleasure.