Thankful Thursday - tired but thankful
It’s hard to believe it’s only been a week since last Thankful Thursday! It’s been one wonderful week! And I am sooo grateful and thankful for so much of it.
I’m thankful for…
- Mandy, Josh, and Olivia - none of whom are related to us by blood and all of whom are related to us by love. These are the family of our heart, of our choice. Spending days upon days with them was bliss.
- Sunny skies and pleasant weather.
- Mike, who indulges me.
- Love. Hope. This time last year, I didn’t much believe in hope any more, and I’m surprised and delighted to find that it’s back in my realm of vision.
- Deals made between friends. I didn’t much follow the spirit of the deal in my head - sorry, Josh - but I did out loud, and sometimes that’s enough.
- Books.
- Jobs. Mike’s and mine. Mike’s because it allows him to follow his passion. Mine because it allows us good health insurance.
- Compliments and positive reinforcement at work. I honestly thought they changed my job description because I was nurturing and nice. Turns out, my numbers aren’t as bad as I’d originally thought. When I got back from vacation on Tuesday, I discovered that my numbers are pretty good in the rankings. Out of 80 or 90 individuals in my division, I’m ranked #11. I was stunned. And very pleased.
- Four and a half hours of enjoyment at work. A rarity for me. But I really enjoyed my time this afternoon helping with the training class. Who knew?
- For old friends and new connections… through Facebook, I found an old college friend & we went to dinner with her and her husband last night. It was a super time.
And lastly, I’m thankful for a soft bed. In NO way did we mind our alternate sleeping arrangements in order to have dear friends here, but it was so nice to sink back into our bed this week.
Filed under Thankful Thursday | Permalink | Comments (5)Tagged with: Facebook • Family • love • Thankful Thursday • Work
Homesickness, my old friend
Homesickness sneaks up on me. I rarely see it coming. My Homesickness is rarely for a place. The homesickness I feel is for people, for feelings of love and comfort. When we first moved here, I spent months and months with Homesickness as my constant companion. That aching in my soul was my reminder that Homesickness hadn’t yet left me.
It’s not that way now. Now, Homesickness sneaks up on me.
I got an email from my brother this evening catching me up on what’s going on with his family. And he mentioned that my nephew had his braces removed. I didn’t even know Zachary had braces. At all. How can I not know that?
And just like that, Homesickness came to visit me, tightening my throat, welling tears in my eyes, clenching my heart.
We live so very far from my family that I haven’t actually seen my brother and his family in person in more than two years. Eliza was only two and barely speaking when she saw them last. She talked to John on the phone the other day and handed the phone to me after a moment or two, saying, “I don’t think he knows who I am.” John and I laughed about it, and yet, a little piece of my heart broke.
My grandparents and parents and brother and his family all live in the same little town in which I grew up. It’s a sweet town about 1,000 miles away from here. It’s perfectly reasonable that we haven’t made the trip there or that they haven’t made the trip here. We’ve got four grown-up schedules and two kids schedules to coordinate, and that’s rarely workable. But it’s sad.
Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to live in the same little town as everyone else. And I love living so close to Mike’s family. But sometimes, that’s sad, too.
Mike, Chuck and Stacy all grew up together. They have this wonderful history. Stacy’s family lives close by, and Mike has that long family familiarity with all of them, too. And our kids are all creating those same bonds now, which is an amazingly wonderful thing. But sometimes, I’d like that feeling of history myself.
Mike’s students interviewed him today for beginning interviewing practice, and he said someone asked if he was on an island and could only have one DVD tv show set, what would it be. I picked “Cheers.” Everyone should have a place where everyone knows your name. I commented on Bee’s blog today that I think Southerners have a real affection for nicknames, little tokens of affection that are ties that bind. Griff’s 10, and I called him “Boo” in public today. And he responded to it. I sometimes wish there were people closer to me who had that long-standing connection with me.
My brother and his wife are having a baby. I don’t get to go shopping with Nicole. And Griff doesn’t get to tease Zachary about being a big brother. And they’re picking names without our input. Not that they’d care that they’re naming my precious niece after a character on a stupid Disney show. Not that I care. She’s going to be fabulous, of course. You know, unless she’s a he. And then, he’ll be groovy as heck.
Either way, this long-awaited child is going to grow up not knowing me, much like my children are growing up not knowing my brother. And I adore my brother. Griff and Eliza are missing out by not being able to interact with him. Griff’s so much like John… this tender, sensitive soul. Not much in a rush, gonna do things in his own way and in his own time. But oh, how wonderful are the things he does!
And I didn’t even know his son had braces. I didn’t even know.
Mike’s gonna have to scoot over further in the bed tonight. I’m pretty sure Homesickness is going to be sleeping with me tonight.
Filed under Most Everything | Permalink | Comments (6)Tagged with: Family • Homesickness • John
Wordless Wednesday
My great-aunt, Dora. She was my grandmother’s sister. Her twin’s name was Ora. I met Ora once or twice but never met Dora.
Filed under Wordless Wednesday | Permalink | Comments (2)Tagged with: Family • Wordless Wednesday
Griff’s Surgery Schedule
For those of you keeping track of Griff’s surgery, here’s our schedule for the next couple of days.
Tomorrow, Mike will go to campus and give his May term class their final. Then, we’ll all gather together to take Eliza to Chuck and Stacy’s. They have been kind enough to offer to keep her through the surgery. We’ll get her back either Friday or Saturday, depending upon how Griff’s doing. I already feel guilty about being gone from Eliza last weekend and then again for the rest of this week, but I know it’s what we have to do in order to get through this initial time with Griff.
When we get back to town, we’ll pack up again and head out. The surgery is being done at a children’s hospital about an hour or so from here. Mike got a dirt cheap hotel thanks to Priceline so we won’t have to be up quite so early Thursday morning. We’ll have dinner down there and stay the night. If the therapist can work us in, we’ll also have some pre-op crutch training before dinner.
We have to be at the hospital at 6 Thursday morning, and his surgery is scheduled for 7:15. Our pediatric orthopaedic surgeon told us the surgery and casting should take about an hour. In total, we’ve been told to expect to be there another five to six hours after the surgery before bringing Griff home.
Griff’s asking good questions about the procedure and doesn’t seem worried or frightened, which is good. If I’m not reading articles about the surgery online (which makes my stomach hurt), I’m not worried either. I really feel quite content that this is something we need to do for him. It’s going to be hard, no doubt, and most likely more painful than I want to consider right now. But I do believe it will allow him to walk better, and it’s going to improve his balance and will lessen the general pain in his legs. All of which is going to give him more strength and confidence.
I’ll be sure to post updates here. If I can figure out how, I can post from my phone on Thursday.
In advance, we appreciate the prayers.
Filed under Faith, Most Everything | Permalink | Comments (3)Tagged with: Family • Griff • prayer • surgery
Wordless Wednesday
My great, great, great, great-grandmother. I think. There may be one more great in there. 
Tagged with: Family • Wordless Wednesday
