The Bee's Knees!

I am really not a bee, but I have major issues with my knees.
Tomorrow I will have a total knee replacement surgery on my left knee.

This is what it will look like.
I have prayed.
I have asked many others to pray.
I have visited with both the orthopedist and the Orthopedic PA and I believe that this is the best decision.
After years of favoring my left knee, my right knee is beginning to show problems as well.  It seems that in view of our plans to transition to Malawi Africa it is best to be sure I am leaving for the field in the best possible physical condition. So this is the plan.
In the midst of other preparations this has been a big decision and distraction. Considering my person will change forever tomorrow I feel calm today.
There are many things that Ted and I need to do but we are hoping this is not the one thing that determines our departure time.
I am going to be reading and listening to lessons and working on sedentary tasks for a few weeks but I am feeling good about most things.
Hopefully in a few weeks I will back at my house!

Packing up the Dreams

   Over the years we have been in Bismarck I have taught Sunday School, Directed Vacation Bible School, been a youth leader, lead assorted bible studies, lead a 4-H club, and probably more. For each of these activities I have some quantity of odds and ends to support that activity
   I have also become a collector of various items. There was the beanie baby craze I bought into pretty heavily, did a lot of sewing and crafting over the years and have acquired a lot of random items for those pursuits. Of late most notably I have collected vast quantities of yarn and knitting needles. I have always liked house plants and with time and resources have collected many houseplant. Also I like to cook so I have collected many cook books and more then a few kitchen gadgets.
   Over the past 20 years I have gained and lost quite a lot of weight as well. I have clothes, esp. favorite items in various sizes stashed around the house.
   Oh yes and then there is the most odd item of all. I have a large collection of Trivial Pursuit games. In recent years there have been a lot of specialty collectors versions that I have not acquired, however before I made a conscious decision that this was getting out of hand and I wanted to serve in Africa more then I wanted to have the largest known collection of Trivial Pursuit games in the world I was closing in on a complete set, Master games, specialty question decks, era's in time, I even have a set of special metal with gold trim pies and pieces and a trivial pursuit carrying case.
   Now it is time to pack up, consolidate, gift, sell, etc most of my earthly belongings. Seems like every item has a memory attached to it. Also nearly every item requires a decision. For me it is easy to attach a lot greater value to many of these items then they deserve and to blow this process into the realm of a moral decision of what the absolute best and perfect placement of every object is.
   George Carlin has a monologue about stuff. I have to get past attachment to my stuff, because that's all it really is piles of stuff, no more no less. It doesn't have special intrinsic value because it is my particular stuff and I collected it. It's just stuff and those to skeins of chunky avocado green acrylic yarn are ugly no matter who they belong to.