Time stopped for us - literally - on Saturday morning, October 18th.  Dan and I were taking our usual Saturday morning walk together. It was a frosty morning, about 22 degrees. We passed a neighbor whom we often see when we walk, and greeted him with a "Good Morning".  Just minutes later, Dan said the frosty air was hurting his lungs and that he couldn't walk any farther. He has mentioned this before when walking, and we didn't think this was odd.  But, we turned around to go home when he said he was experiencing some gas pains, and wanted to wait for me to go home and get the pickup, and bring him home. After arriving home, he continued to complain of gas pains and wanted to go to bed. I noted he was clammy and very sweaty, and realized this could be a heart attack. I immediately called 911 and told them I was concerned he was having a heart attack. I gave him 3 aspirin with a tiny bit of water while we waited for EMS to arrive.  Dan was still conscious and speaking, and the aspirin eased his pain. EMS arrived and determined he was in serious heart distress, and transported him emergently to the local heart hospital. 

It was a very frosty, foggy Saturday morning when our lives changed forever

Is there any flower more heartwarming than a sunflower's bloom in late summer/early fall? This sunflower bloomer was an optimist in my garden this summer.  In spite of harsh circumstantial reality, it chose to sprout up inside a small pot planted with potatoes. In true symbiotic rhythm, the potato and sunflowers grew happily together all summer, amazing me, and all who witnessed it! When the potatoes were ready to harvest, we found the potatoes nestled into the roots of the sunflower.  After pulling out the potatoes, I repotted the sunflower, and it has grown happily since, after a time of readjustment. 

A sunflower growing in the same pot as a potato