Karen I hope your dad is ok, my mom has a pacemaker, and don't know if you know or not, but about every 5 years the battery must be changed. My mom is on coumadin, and when the time was coming close for her battery to be changed, she stopped the coumadin, but her blood levels were too high at the time so they put the changing of the battery off. Last summer, the damn pacemaker actually was protruding through her skin, she developed an infection, and we had to take her to a cardiac thoraic surgeon about 40 miles from here. In one day they removed the pacemaker, and she was on high levels of antibiotics for a week, the next week they put in the new pacemaker and she has been ok since, with the exception of this past fall breaking her hip. Oh its been one hell of a year!!! She's due to be released from this past session of nursing home/rehabilitation soon. As for the crackhead, he is digging his own grave. Keep us posted on how your dad does. Alberta

Refinements for these rules: Orphan's Table: Extra plants that we want to share without a trade will go onto an "Orphan's Table", which is to be left untouched until the door prizes are drawn. When you collect your door prize, you can go to the Orphan's Table & pick one item or two, depending on the number of plants donated. When everyone has picked one or two items, we'll start over. Don't Take, Wait Until It's Offered: I cannot stress this strongly enough. Do not take *anything*, even if you see your name on a box or a plant. It isn't yours until the person who brought the item hands it to you, at which time you hand your trade to him or her. This is the only way for traders to be sure that they don't lose control of their items before they know that they're happy with the item they're to receive in trade. If you're trading an azalea for an ivy, & you've brought a 5 gallon azalea & your trading partner has brought a 4" pot of ivy & you don't think that's equitable, you can decline the trade. If anyone takes something without permission, that person will be asked to leave. One more "suggestion", but it's a *strong* suggestion: Post your haves before you post your wants & before you ask a trader for something they've posted. & the flip side to that is, of course, if someone asks for something & you can't find what they've offered, *ask* before you agree to bring them something. We are all free, of course, to give our plants away *if we want to* (something like informed consent), but that doesn't excuse taking advantage of someone's generosity. As was mentioned on a thread last spring, you can always bring cookies; Wal-Mart sells every variety under the sun!

Tara, it is just amazing how I can relate to your story as well. I was in Philadelphia on campus when I got a call from my sister at right about 5:00PM when she notified me of my mom's passing. And recently, I have been spending most of my time with my good friend who is also a Christian. I asked him how to convert someone into Christian if there's no "legitimate proof" that a non-christian would believe in. He told me that the proof is clear and its everywhere..it's just that we fail to recognize them. Well, I'm guessing 5:00PM is good! I'm not sure if I'm making any sense right now, but I believe that all of our moms are having a wonderful time right now, especially since we all have faith in Him. I think the best way to interpret the reason behind our mothers' early departure is to bring us closer to Him. I just read a verse in the Bible last night and it says that if you are able to give up anything for Him, even a family member, you will find eternal happiness in Heaven. My mom's passing reminds me of how much she loved me. Sacrifice is love I heard...how Son of God died for our sins. If I didn't have faith..I probably would have gone crazy. The more I try to understand Him, the less painful it gets. I know..it's hard to keep up with all of the prayers everyday...but try to think more about God and try to appreciate everything that has happened. Appreciate even the smallest thing, like a nice weather you know... It sounds crazy, I know, but everything really happens for the good of us. I wish I knew the exact answer to this but I'm sure He is putting us through such testimony to make us into someone better. Remember that we only have one chance in life... so make the best out of it to serve Him. And start going to church if you havn't....I have been really good about going to church since my mom's passing, but every week, I learn something new and something relevant. For example...we had an Easter prayer meeting last Friday and the pastor reminded us about His love and to love one another like how He loves us. He also mentioned to ask forgiveness (to someone you know...ie friends) if you did something wrong in the past. The following day, I was on AIM and saw my very first GF online. I told her I was sorry for what happened before and she actually said "it's okay it's past." It is just crazy...for EIGHT years, she has not said a word to me and has been ignoring me since I tried to talk to her after the breakup (I was a jerk...). I felt 100x better than what I was after being forgiven...So I strongly encourage everyone to keep their faith strong and try to go to church regularly. Going to Heaven is not all about going to church though...it's about your personal relations with God. I hope everyone is doing well and please KIT! This forum is also very helpful for me as well... GL with everyone!!!

I'm so sorry. I won't say i know your pain, because i don't, but i have also lost my father suddenly. two weeks ago today i found him in his truck. The medical examiner said it was a massive heart attack. I never and i don't think he knew either that anything was wrong. I love my dad so much! He was the greatest dad ever. He taught me how to fish, hunt, play golf, and anything else i wanted to learn. When i grew up (i'm 34), he was still my favority fishing buddy and golf partner. I can't tell you all the good my dad did for our community. I was so proud of who my dad was, and would brag about him to my friends all the time. he was a great man. Now i can't even think of fishing again, or playing golf. I know he would tell me to go and have fun, but i don't want to. I just want my dad back. I feel cheated. I should have been there, my dad should have never been alone when he went. It probably wouldn't have mattered, but at least ... i maybe could have comforted him in some way. I hope that he wasn't scared or hurting badly. God, why? the weekend before he left us, we were suppose to go fishing, but it poured down the rain. my question is if God knew he was going to take my dad, why couldn't i have that last trip. i know that's selfish, but that's how i feel. I miss him so much. I still need him. Just the other day i said to myself, "dad would know what to do here" and started to call his cell phone, only to realize that it was on the table beside of me. I love you dad, just want you to come home.