Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time

A few days last week I woke up with an attitude to make it a great day.  My thought was, "today will be gone tomorrow...how are you going to make it count?"  By Friday evening I was ready for Sunday to start anew.  I obviously didn't hold tight to my optimistic attitude. 

The last couple of weeks have been full of little challenges with no breaks.  From learning school isn't the same for all my kiddos to things that need bandaids.  All things that were a little more out of my control to fix.

My broken heart knowing this one kiddo might have to work a little harder.  I found myself counting my blessings and noticing each of my children's strengths.  They will all end up on top.  I just have to adjust where my focus is for each child.  These heart strings were plucked and my heart grows fonder for each of them. 

I was able to skip the terrible twos and threes.  At three and a half we met tricky three and a half, a.k.a. bittersweet.  The sweet helps me survive the bitter.  Defiant no's which usually are putting him in danger, bitter.  Running way ahead of me for part of the walk to school and then insisting on being carried on the way back...or have to carry a squirmy worm to keep him safe.  First child I have considered, seriously considered, a leash.  He makes a doctor's appointment quite distressing for this mama.  Luckily the other three were saints.  It was our first appointment where any of my kiddos had to dress down to their undies and socks and put on a paper gown AND pee in a cup.  Adventure enough?  Add the bitter of my sweet three year old.  Wow!  After 2 hours of drama I made it to the van.  Found relief that our tire still had air in it (found a nail in it day prior, but had to just fill it up with air until pay day).  Buckled everyone in and the tears of the two hours spilled.  Sure I looked calm and collect while inside.  Then I burst.  I love that two times where I already looked like a crazy lady of 4 kids, Cohen volunteered information about our 5th addition.  I am where you can tell if you know me, but a stranger would be a fool to ask if I were pregnant.  No need to ask, Cohen will tell you.

 

Blessings of the week:  A healthy and positive OB appointment, 25 weeks today.  Those three sweet kids made the appointment the best they could and Cohen & Kennedy peed their best in their cups.  The bitter turned to sweet with hugs and forgiveness after we shared some time apart in our rooms.  He really is a sweet boy.  Teague has a contagious smile and we have some of the best conversations. I love that I get some time with just him during the day.  He can say the darnedest things.  I was telling him something was fancy or in spanish, ornamentado.  He kept telling me it wasn't.  I was teasing him and kept on.  He said, "Stop Mom, you are making me throw up."  I am sure he heard something similar, hmmm three months or so ago.  He is very much sweet and only dumps out a little bitter/ornery.  He and his mom need to figure out how to communicate those emotions.  I went to a new tire place (no Discount Tire within an hour drive where I bought tires and could get a free repair).  The new place, Tire Discounters, honored the free repair as a welcome to Ohio.  Yay!  Also while sitting and waiting, everyone waiting had something to keep them busy and they offered a kid friendly show.  Angels!  By the end a guy was even watching Arthur intently.  A cute little boy in his Buzz rain boots, rain or shine.  Two great kids while I grocery shopped for our 2 weeks worth.  It is quite a process, calculator and all.

My week ended with a bang.  Not the bang or bust anyone wants.  Remember that great grocery store run.  The groceries were loaded, kids were in the back seat of the van watching.  I closed up, walked around and a little rough housing to get back to their seats turned into a trip to visit David at his work.  Not a cheap date with dad either.  Well, he visited us in the ED while Teague received a staple in his head. 

Kennedy will never forget that moment.  Neither will I.  Teague fell.  I picked him up to comfort what I thought was a bonk.  Two van doors wide open as I sit in his car seat rocking him.  Then we notice blood.  Kennedy turns into shear panic.  She starts throwing tissues at me in fear.  She wouldn't get close enough to hand them too me, she kept throwing them and saying, "Oh my goodness.  He's bleeding.  Oh my goodness!!!!  I can't go to school.  It's bad.  It's bad.  Oh my goodness.  Oh my goodness!"  I felt helpless not able to comfort both of them at the same time.  I had no idea the look or severity of the injury.  I had gotten the bleeding to stop and had Teague hold a tissue on his head.  Texting and calling David frantically to see if it was stitch worthy.  Teague was calmed.  Put a show on the television.  Made their lunches and unloaded the items that needed to be refrigerated.  Cleaned Teague and I up, so I could send a picture to David of the cut.  Got Kennedy to school and then David suggested it needed a couple of stitches or staples.  After calling two local places to get it done, I was sent to Cincinnati Children's.  David did expedite the speed of things.  Teague was a champ.  Really clueless that he got a staple in the head.  Of course my best laid plans for kids to be picked up from school...both of my back ups were out of town.  It worked out, but this mama was wiped out.  Even with a full pantry, it was pizza and movie night. 

The weekend was nice to have David home and no call.  Some maternity clothes (thrifty retail therapy) and General Relief Society Conference were helpful in a small reboot before we start one of the hardest months.  Hardest rotation and his boards are this month.  Can I do it?  Shake it off and step up!  I was reminded of the below message which is made from Elder Quentin L. Cook's entire talk from  General Conference address in October 2008.  This is and excerpt from where the quote came from:

"Last winter my daughter had a white-knuckle experience driving in a severe snowstorm. She reminded me of a similar situation I had with my two sons many years ago. My youngest son, Joe, was three years old, and my son Larry was six. We were traveling by car from San Francisco to Utah in June. The weather had been very good.

As we started our ascent to the Donner Pass summit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, suddenly and without warning an enormous snowstorm hit us. None of the drivers was prepared. A semi truck in front of us had jackknifed and was spread across two lanes. Other trucks and cars had slid off the freeway. One lane was open, and many vehicles, including ours, were desperately trying to gain traction to avoid the other vehicles. All traffic then came to a halt.

We were not prepared for this blizzard in June. We had no warm clothing, and our fuel was relatively low. I huddled with the two boys in an effort to keep us warm. After many hours, safety vehicles, snowplows, and tow trucks began to clear up the massive logjam of vehicles.

Eventually, a tow truck hauled us to a service station on the other side of the pass. I called my wife, knowing she would be worried because she had expected a call the prior evening. She asked if she could speak to the two boys. When it was the three-year-old’s turn, with a quivering voice, he said, “Hope ya know, we had a hard time!”

I could tell, as our three-year-old talked to his mother and told her of the hard time, he gained comfort and then reassurance. Our prayers are that way when we go to our Father in Heaven. We know He cares for us in our time of need."
 

Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time (great video)

I don't have anything permanent I have to deal with, but I do have this time in our life that will be a challenging one. As my mom often said, "This too shall pass."  It might be hard, but we are not alone and we can get through it. No wallowing in self pity. I must get out and reach out to the Lord and look for opportunities to reach out to others.