I rarely read a book more than once, but I make an exception for To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve read it, and each time I do, it whisks me away. There’s a character in Mockingbird named Mrs. Dubose, an old woman who lives down the street from Jem and Scout. Every time the children walk past her porch she yells out at them, scolding them for misdeeds they didn’t know they committed.

[This piece was contributed by Kathleen Callihan Morris, Jordan’s grandmother.] Jordan completely blew me away last night. As I was driving home, feeling sad for what she’s going through – as well as how painful it is for Larry and Jeanette to witness, my cell phone rang. I know I’m not supposed to talk on my cell phone and drive, but when I saw it was from Jordan, there was no way I wasn’t going to answer.

As we approached Children’s Hospital this morning, Jordan sighed and said, – Children’s Hospital. Another day, another nickel. She’s in the O.R. now. It will be a few hours before we see her again. I’m all nerves. Unlike me, Jordan was witty, spirited and determined to get this done. I’m certain she was nervous, too. But it didn’t stop her from chatting with the nurses about rotations in the O.B. ward.

I know myself well enough to know that when I find it hard to write, I’m usually avoiding something. The words aren’t flowing today, and that’s because I’m uncomfortable thinking about tomorrow. At 8:30 am, Jordan will check in for the surgery we’ve diligently researched, laboriously discussed, and frequently postponed. But we can’t avoid it any longer because it is what Jordan needs and it will make her life better.

Valentines She’s ready. Make no doubt. She’s ready. We walked to See’s Candies together to buy her mother a Valentine’s Day present. Three blocks required nearly a half hour, but she walked without complaint. She chatted constantly with every step. Mostly, the conversational threads were random thoughts and wanton whims, but here and there she’d reference the surgery she’s scheduled to have in five short days. There’s very little complaint – almost no hesitation – just talk of what she’ll do when her feet are repaired and how she plans to cope when she can’t walk on her own.