A Very Precious Penny.

Yesterday I awoke in the middle of the night, sweating. My throat was on fire, my neck was stiff, and my head was pounding. Bleh. I knew some kind of sickness was coming on, so I took my temp. I didn't have a fever, which was weird, since I had chills, but I knew there was still something wrong. I woke my husband up and asked if he could stay home a bit in the morning so I could go to our town's urgent care clinic and get checked out (being pregnant, I didn't want to risk anything if it was the flu). He said sure.

When morning finally rolled around, my head still throbbed and my husband remembered he had a meeting at work with some clients that he couldn't miss (that had understandably escaped his mind at 2:00am). I totally understood, but didn't know what to do about going to the doctor. I really didn't want to take Cub to the urgent care clinic with me and put his health at risk (more than it already was with me), but I also knew I needed to get it taken care of.

So, that's when I placed the call.

To Penny.

Let me back up a bit. Penny is someone who came into my life a few years ago. We met through worship team (we both play the piano) and through the years we've come to serve on various ministries together and have developed a very tight friendship (I also refer to her as my mentor, as she is quite wise, as well). Her kids are almost all grown and she and her husband are the epitome of what it means to serve. Penny makes herself available by helping out other moms by watching their kids, or running errands for someone, or taking someone to an appointment, or just going to lunch with you to make sure you're doing okay. I'm telling you, this woman is amazing. When I miscarried two years ago, she immediately came in to cover my position at church (when I was working there) and then afterwards she came to my house to check on me. Her family has watched Cub on numerous occasions (her kids are homeschooled and the two that are still at home are so great with him--which speaks volumes for teenagers!) and he loves going to Miss Penny's house.

So. Back to yesterday.

I placed the call, feeling all kinds of guilty for calling so early, but sure enough, Penny was more than willing to oblige. I dropped Cub off and went to urgent care and while I sat in the waiting room, Penny texted me and told me to just go home afterwards and they would watch Cub the rest of the day. Again, I felt so guilty, but I also knew she wouldn't offer if she didn't want to do it! It turns out I had an upper respiratory infection (bleh) so I got my meds and went home. I checked throughout the day to make sure everything was going well and Penny said they were having a blast. When I went over to pick Cub up later that afternoon, he was wearing a new outfit they had bought him. I thanked them over and over again for watching him on such late notice and, as is usually the case, Penny waved it off and said they were happy to do it.

She even sent me home with some homemade soup.

As I get older and have my own family and see more and more of life as an adult, I realize what a blessing it is to have people like Penny (and her family) in my life. She not only helps me out, but she also inspires me to do the same for other people. I hope I can be as helpful to young Moms as Penny was (and is) to me.

I know this post seems kind of random, but I think it's important to acknowledge people who deserve an honorable mention but rarely get it.

So, props to you, Miss Penny. 

And a huge, huge THANK YOU!