So my life has been taken over by ridiculous amounts of THINGS HAPPENING. I can't really summarize it in any other articulate way. Just, things happen, we adjust and deal with them, and then some other things happen, and then we balance things out and then we just keep.. on.. moving.
I told my mother a few weeks ago that this is the year of "we will overcome" here at the Williams household. Whatever happens, we overcome it. As mentioned in my previous entry, we feel like we're in a good place with Big Jay right now - we have overcome the terrifying things that happened at the beginning of the year. We're even now to a place were we are EXCITED about how he is doing. Not just sometimes. All. The. Time.
Beyond that - and the fact that I was literally too busy to even mention it here is quite telling - B tore his patellar tendon a little over a month ago. In both knees. At the same time. And had surgery. On both knees. At the same time.
I should really tell the story here, especially the part about how the ER doctors originally wanted to send him home with percocet and an ice pack until B was like HEY GUYS I REALLY CAN'T WALK AT ALL, or how after the surgery he was so doped up that he wanted to sue. SOMEBODY. ANYBODY. THE FLOOR WAS FAULTY.
The humor is there, now, whereas a month ago it seemed like the whole world was crumbling. Our downstairs was invaded by a hospital bed, wheelchair, and walker (hi, we live in a townhome apartment. we really, really don't have a lot of space here to work with). B needed help doing everything from getting in and out of bed to filling up these ice pack cooler things that circulated freezing water on his knees all the time in order to reduce the swelling. My life turned into mother of two, caretaker of one, the only one in the house that could drive and run errands and go to school meetings and work...
And, oh yeah, about a week after he had surgery, my school had this neat little 2-week period in which three of my classes were ending at the SAME TIME that two of my classes were starting - so I was essentially taking 5 classes at once. Graduate. Level. Classes. I had research papers and article critiques and book reviews and...
I've been a little overwhelmed. But you know what? We had help. A lot of it. B's mom and aunt helped out by sitting with B during the day so that I could go to work. They helped with the kids as necessary, cooked meals, they shopped for us when we needed it, they did chores around the house and cleaned it from top to bottom at one point... among all of the millions of other things they did for us.
Our church family helped... dropping off meals, calling with prayers, and offering love and encouragement. B doesn't have disability pay. Did I mention that part? So... they helped us out financially, too, as did my parents...
And now? We are overcoming, again. B is working from home, thanks to a not-so-common arrangement with his job. He is getting around really well - we sent the hospital bed and other rented equipment back last week so our house is mostly back to normal. He still is (supposed to be) wearing the knee braces when he walks, but he no longer needs help doing.. pretty much anything. He has two weeks left until the braces are allowed to come off, officially, and then he will begin physical therapy. And then at some point next month, he'll get the ok to drive, and start back to work... and it will be just.. something else that happened.
As for me, my grades came back for the three classes that ended, and I have a 4.0 towards my degree. Not for lack of STRESSING OUT LIKE CRAZY about it, of course. I could not have finished those classes so strongly without all of the help that we had, nor could I have gotten by in any capacity emotionally - so thank you to everyone that has supported us so wonderfully for the past month.
As cheesy and cliche as this may sound, this Thanksgiving, I am truly thankful to God for putting our wonderful and amazing friends and family here with us. You all are a gift. Truly.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and may you each be as very blessed in love and grace as we are.
Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning -Psalms 30:5
