Smoke Signals and other news
Summer is officially here with hot days and warm nights. I love sitting on the porch in the quiet early mornings or at night listening to God's birds, frogs, and even insects. I don't enjoy the frequent sound of gunfire in the neighborhood. My hummingbirds are the most active in early mornings with their antics. I have at least three regulars now which is a lot less than last year, but I will feed and enjoy these.
The week has been a busy one. I go into work as needed and am grateful that I can still be active and contribute a bit to the community by acting as Byhalia Parks and Rec Director. We are winding down the Spring Season with the end of season tournament taking place in Potts Camp June 2-9. We have two Allstar Baseball Teams headed to state tournaments in mid-June with at least one of those teams advancing to the Dizzy Dean World Series in late June.
Byhalia will have a Summer League with all games being played on the Byhalia fields. All kids ages 3-12 are welcome to join us with teams for older kids if there is enough interest. Register at Byhalia-MS.com by June 6. These games emphasize teaching and a bit more relaxed level of play.
I have missed exercise class the last two weeks but plan to go back this week. I just did not feel up to going but when I can get myself there, it does help with movement and overall feeling better. Join us at 10 a.m. On Wednesday in the Flame behind the Methodist Church in Byhalia.
The last few weeks I have watched some of my grandchildren endure some tough life lessons. It hurts to see them hurt and not be able to fix it for them. Each of them have stood strong and overcome the hurt and obstacles. These are not my stories to tell. Two are college students that faced some large challenges mixed in with end of the school year events but came out good in the end. One is now a high school freshman who accidentally came upon an obstacle but faced it with courage and learned that even tough challenges can become teaching experiences. He fought through the pain and will be better for it.
Another granddaughter became ill early last weekend. Thinking she had strep throat and not having the resources to get medical attention, she was going to fight through it.
By Sunday night, there was no choice but to go to the emergency room where she was promptly loaded into an ambulance and sent to The Med. She was indeed critically ill with an abscess around her windpipe with complications from a flesh-eating bacteria. Many prayers, antibiotics, cultures, days in ICU, drains, and two surgeries later she is on the road to recovery, but still hospitalized. While this can be a rare complication from strep, the infectious disease doctor believes her case started with an infected tooth.
I would love to report your news. Call or text me at 901 246-8843, message me on Facebook at Clair Wagg, or email me at jchwagg@gmail.com.