day 8: I thought I was getting Starbucks

Or, at least that was my plan for the morning.

As I had suspected last night, sleep did not come easily or quickly for me. I tossed and turned. I thought about worrying, but instead, I prayed (that's usually a much better use of my time than worrying). I prayed for ASC, a prayer similar to most days. But last night, I added a little line in there and repeated it, over and over. Probably fell asleep with those words on my lips.

"God, please send me a sign that he is okay."

I didn't ask to get a phone call from him, because I knew that was probably not going to happen.

When I reluctantly got up this morning, I knew it had to be a coffee day. But I thought I'd treat myself to a Starbucks on the way in to school. And a big question loomed over me: could I manage to leave the house by 7:15?

I pushed the girls to get dressed, pick out your breakfast, get your backpack, don't pick on your sister, feed the dog, etc. Believe it or not, at 7:15, we were ready to climb in the car.

Except my phone rang. Didn't recognize the number.

"Hey, it's me. Can you hear me alright?"

Such sweet relief! A weight was lifted off my shoulders, although only momentarily.

We had just 15 minutes. He was calling out on a DSN line, which meant the phone call would last for only 15 minutes, and then we'd automatically get shut off. The girls each took their turns, giving him a quick play-by-play of their highlights from the past week.

It did him good to know that we were all doing okay, and vice versa.

Prayers answered. Thank you, God.

I left the house with no coffee coursing through my veins, but I forgot all about my need for that caffeine. That phone call was exactly what I needed.