It’s been about 3 weeks ago now, but we were able to participate in the Church’s Helping Hands do some service, as London cleaned up areas affected by the recent riots.
We were assigned to help in a large open park area in Northeast London and had a great time serving with those around us.
The older kids were off on a co-op field-trip, but Chris & I had a great time having Cami work alongside us. She was great in finding hard-to-see pieces of trash.
On a side note, I was reminded on that day why it’s not a good idea to eat berries you aren’t sure of. I thought I had found a blueberry bush amongst some raspberry bushes. After eating one, I realized it wasn’t a blueberry. A few hours later at home, I was suffering from severe cramps and nausea. After I had thrown up everything I had in my stomach, I still felt pretty rotten. The nurse at the NHS call center told me I needed to go into the Emergency Room. However, Chris had just left for NYC, we had friends from the states arriving in an hour, and I was reassured by family and friends that I would be fine because it was just one berry. So, I didn’t go to the hospital. I was feeling a little bit better the following day and definitely back to my normal self again the day after. But, the whole experience was a little frightening and I made sure to pass along the wise counsel to my children – never eat a berry you cannot positively identify!
Leave a Comment