today i blog from my bed. i've been fighting what i believe is a sinus infection that started last week when the weather here in MO went wonky dropping from 60 degrees to 30 within a few hours. i felt that drop and it hit me like a bag of bricks.
i've taken the morning off, allowing myself to rest which i haven't done much of these past few nights. i'm not a good mouth breathing sleeper. it just doesn't work for me. poor Art, sleeping with me hasn't been easy on him.
i didn't wake up thinking i would take the morning off. it just happened. it was one of those mornings i wished my kids rode a school bus. after much grumbling on the girls part and mine, we made it to the car and on our way to school. i said a pray as we drove that no other adult would see me or approach my car only because i am looking rough. sandpaper on concrete rough.
every morning i give my girls two vitamins. it's juice plus and through the winter i don't back down on them taking these. i'm a believer they help and with the nastiness going on in the schools this year, i'm on it. well one of my kids takes these gummy vitamins with ease. sarah resists every. single. morning. and it never fails she is still sitting at the kitchen bar, nibbling on her vitamins at seven o'clock which is when she needs to be upstairs dressing, getting ready. every morning she saves her veggie vitamin for the car. so we have the joy of fighting to get it down, on the car ride. this morning was no different. she's been late getting to class because she hasn't had it eaten in time. (yes! i am that mom). do you see this face.... this is the face i see each morning as she nibbles. isn't it just precious :).
man i love her. i love her so much i make her take a vitamin. best. mom. ever. if you ask her (ha!). she got it down and headed to grab her things and told me she loved me. sweet words since we had just had a vitamin war. *vitamin back story... i've started having her sit in the front seat in the mornings to eat these, so i can watch her. she's sneaky i tell ya. Grace and i were cleaning out the car and guess what we found under hear seat? 16 uneaten vitamins. caught!* little stinker.
driving home i felt the need to blog. i get it in my head, i even think through what i would write. fast forward and here i am at home and i've unmade my bed that Art lovingly made, the dog is at my feet keeping them warm (i hope Art isn't reading this). my warm chai tea is by my side, sweat pants are on, big, bulky, warm Cardinals sweatshirt is my choice of clothing. i took my vitamins and the little red pill that helps stop the constant dripping of my nose, i have flonased. i'm ready to rest.
but i blog because i feel drawn to.
*heart attack back story.... so my dad had a heart attack on december 19th of last year. i got the call from my sister at 3 a.m. that he had been taken to the emergency room. i was packed and on the road by 4. looking back now it was all a blur, but then it seemed to last forever. dad was in the hospital for 5 days and if it weren't for him being in good physical shape beforehand, it would have been a longer stay. tests were done, pointing them to a triple bypass. i don't think any of us (siblings) knew exactly what was involved until talking to the surgeon. when the doctor told us about the procedure and the point when they would cool down my dad's body and stop his heart....
what?... what did you say?..can you repeat that?... stop his heart?!? is this really happening?
stopping.his.heart. ya'll. it took awhile to process it. so many emotions, questions, thoughts went flooding into our brains and conversations. the surgeon was super positive but come on, stopping the heart. this is huge!
four very long hours after the surgery began we got to see him. there are no words to describe it. they warmed us to what he would look like but as his kids, we all fell apart and were in shock. there were so many tubes coming in and out of him, there was blood, he was pale, hooked up to machine that kept him breathing, monitors everywhere, lights, sounds everywhere. it truly felt chaotic but we knew it was needed.
he woke up slowly. we communicated with him and he wanted to talk but he couldn't with the air tube. he seemed agitated so we kept telling him to rest, all was okay, mom was okay and he was going to be fine. he nodded, i cried, blubbered. it was him responding which in his state was just what we all needed. it was relief. i still get teary eyed just thinking about it.
he had some rough nights in ICU coming off the anesthesia. he was determined to get out of there and amazed them with his walking and strength the next day. none of this surprised his kids though. he wanted to get back home to mom. Christmas eve came, dad had been doing really well, completing all the tasks they had asked of him. the surgeon had talked of sending him home and that was our plan as well. hospital time is not on our time. it's slow and insane. we waited all day for the surgeon to come. we weren't patient. we were frustrated, tired and ready already! we found out later that afternoon that the surgeon had been called in for emergency surgery. we understand but darn.... when the surgeon did show up at 5:00 i was ready to hug and kiss the man. i withheld and prayed, waiting to hear the word "discharge". two hours later, our wish came true and we were in the car. again, it was a moment of relief but also of pure joy. it was christmas eve and dad was going home. he would have Christmas at home. God is good.
we arrived to a house full of family, i think we overwhelmed him. when we got him through the front door my mom had tears. through her confusion she knew he was there and she expressed joy. dad went straight to her, hugged her, kissed her head. it felt like light filled the room. it was one of those moments i will never forget. true love right there. joy right there. prayers answered right there. God working in our lives, right there. oh Jesus, thank you. thank you for this moment right there. Dad was home.
so i need to stop there and move on because crying does not help one with an already stuffy head and nose. the story continues, but it will be another post.
now i rest. my story is partially told and documented. i can rest.
oh and my prayers were answered.... got in and out of the school parking lot without being seen. SCORE!
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