Last week was great! I was on a roll, writing every day, feeling better, taking control of my diet and my environment. I was tapping my toes humming “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” I didn’t see the storm cell building.  Friday morning, I was blinded by a bolt of lightning in the form of a 6:39 AM text from my father, “Leah has had a massive stroke.” I was deafened by the thunder clap of a later message, “Does not look good.”

Daddy and Leah were childhood friends and classmates. Like it happens, they lost touch after high school. In the last decade or so, they reconnected and got to know the adult versions of the childhood friends. They fell in love.

My father and sister spent Friday at the hospital in Memphis. I joined them on Saturday. Showers were intermittent until about 2:30 AM on Sunday morning when this precious woman breathed her last. The deluge began and continues.

The events of the last few days have generated a great many thoughts I’ll be sharing with you over the coming days. Most of them have nothing to do with food; however, we will certainly be talking about emotional eating and the triggers for it. And, we will be talking more about the little girl in this photo. We will talk about Hays and her confidence in the face of the storm.

I’ve never envied a child more.