Paths Taken
An Autobiographical Account of an Ordinary Life
by
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I got a call from a doctor at a Modesto hospital in the summer of 2009 saying Lance was in the hospital and not doing well. I had fallen from a ladder earlier in the spring while I was pruning a bush and had shattered my knee. I was still in a wheel chair most of the time or on crutches, but I was able to drive. Frank refused to go, so I drove out alone. Lance had been in and out of the hospital several times by then, but this time he was in bad shape. They thought they could pull him through this time, but the doctor gave him very little time. His liver was gone, he had hepatitis and his heart and lungs were overworked and failing. As he lay there, a nurse on twenty-four hour watch, he asked, "Mom, what happens when I die?"
How do you answer that question for your child?
"Do you mean to your soul or to your body?" I asked.
"Both I guess," he said.
"Well," I started. "You had yourself baptized a few years ago. I know God moves in your life because you tell me you have arguments with him about your drinking. He knows you inside, Lance. He sees all of
your pain and your trials, and only he knows what is truly in your heart. So, I would say what happens to your soul is between you and God.
"Your body we will do with as you and I have discussed. We will have you cremated and we will take you to Choteau to be burried with Maga and Grandma. Is that what you wanted to know?"
The nurse fled the room in tears, but Lance seemed to relax in his bed and said, "Yeah, Mom. Yeah. That's good."
How do you answer that question for your child?
"Do you mean to your soul or to your body?" I asked.
"Both I guess," he said.
"Well," I started. "You had yourself baptized a few years ago. I know God moves in your life because you tell me you have arguments with him about your drinking. He knows you inside, Lance. He sees all of
your pain and your trials, and only he knows what is truly in your heart. So, I would say what happens to your soul is between you and God.
"Your body we will do with as you and I have discussed. We will have you cremated and we will take you to Choteau to be burried with Maga and Grandma. Is that what you wanted to know?"
The nurse fled the room in tears, but Lance seemed to relax in his bed and said, "Yeah, Mom. Yeah. That's good."
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Book Details
Language :
English
Publication Date :
8/28/2014
Format :
E-Book
Dimensions :
N/A
Page Count :
150
ISBN :
9781496936578
Format :
Softcover
Dimensions :
6x9
Page Count :
150
ISBN :
9781496936561
About the Book
Ordinary lives are full of highs and lows, tears and laughter. How each of us survives those peaks and valleys is what makes our life unique and extraordinary. This journey down the path of an ordinary life, with all its twists and turns and ups and downs, transformed a shy, insecure girl into a strong and capable woman who has weathered the highs in her life with joy and celebration and the lows with the determination to walk through the storm into the sunshine beyond.
About the Author
Transplanted from the foot hills of Northern Montana to the bustle of Northern California's Bay Area, Julia Haun is a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother whose family is the hub of her life. She has written stories since she was very young, and was first published while still in high school. She graduated from the University of Montana and did graduate work at several California Universities while teaching, helping her husband finish his degree and raising a family. Today her life is still a whirlwind, full of family and their activities, friends, and travel.