Update: Home + Tired + Grateful

I spent all day Friday supporting my parents at the hospital. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, I got up at 2:30 am to help meet a need. Sunday morning (this time it was 1:30 am), I was woken up by a kiddo who needed me for something.

I am officially part of the Sandwich Generation!

This post will be part update, part brain dump, and part gratitude reflection.

First, a huge thanks to you, my readers, many of whom have become dear and treasured friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the seemingly endless texts, e-mails, comments, and prayers. I have been truly astonished by the level of support. ASTONISHED.

In terms of updating, while I’m directly involved, these aren’t my medical experiences to share publicly, so I’m being purposefully vague.

When I last posted, we had been triaged and were waiting to be seen by an emergency room doctor. You never know who you’re going to get, and we were so fortunate to have a doctor who was efficient yet kind. She had a wonderful bedside manner and answered questions directly but with patience and care. She ordered all the tests I was hoping would be ordered, and we got a series of answers from those test results.

The coming weeks and months are a bit of an unknown. There is hope that a full recovery is possible, but the doctors are cautiously (and rightly) not providing any guarantees.

Our little nuclear family unit is now back home in Nova Scotia. There was an early-morning medical follow-up this morning, so my parents left yesterday to be nearer to the hospital. They wanted to shut off the water at their house, so it made sense for us to leave for Nova Scotia a day earlier than originally planned.

I will admit to feeling immense relief to be home, in my own bed, with no one beyond John, the kids, and me in our house.

I am tired.

It has been six months of intense life upheaval. Almost four months in Europe. An incredibly busy, hands-on summer of parenting and hosting visiting family. And then unexpectedly supporting my parents.

Today feels like a gift.

I had expected to be in transit, and instead I am sipping coffee in my living room, eschewing just about any and all work responsibilities. (There is an invoice I need to get sent out today, but beyond that… I am doing NOTHING.) Belle is hosting a friend and that requires nothing from me. One of the many joys of parenting a teen is the fact they prefer not to have parental involvement.

There is virtually no food in our house, and someday soon (tomorrow?) we will get around to replenishing the larder, but today is not that day. There are packages of ramen, oatmeal, and some potstickers and veggies in the freezer. No one will starve.

As for gratitude…

The last few days have been hard and emotional and overwhelming. Also, there is so much to be thankful for.

• When we were at the hospital, it was taking FOREVER to get test results back. Turns out, unbeknownst to us, there was torrential rain in the city. Accident traumas spiked and the ER was overrun with emergencies. While I am not grateful that so many people experienced issues, when we left the hospital, the rain had stopped. Completely. We missed all the horrendous weather conditions.
• I have an uncle who lives within 20 minutes of the hospital. By the time we were discharged, it was nearly 11 pm. It would have been a 2+ hour drive along rural roads full of active deer. We called my uncle and he quickly offered to host us for the night.
• I had suggested we pack toothbrushes and a few supplies in case we needed to spend the night at the hospital. Thankfully, we were discharged, but having those things at my uncle’s place was such a relief.
• I hadn’t seen my uncle and aunt since 2019. While I wish the circumstances had been different, it was truly wonderful to see them, and they were a calm and steady presence.
• John handled everything back at the lake in terms of kid care. Not having to worry about Belle and Indy removed a major source of potential stress.
• We were able to fit in some time-sensitive end-of-season cleanup at my parents’ place: the raft is in from the lake, and the wood splitter has been put away.
• I was able to prepare multiple meals with leftovers, so there are several days of food ready and waiting in their fridge.
• We came home to enough leftovers in OUR fridge that we didn’t have to make anything for supper last night.
• I showered and washed my hair this morning. It was the first time I had showered since LAST WEDNESDAY. It felt so good.
• Speaking of support from blog readers, the outpouring of support and love about my podcast appearances (Best of Both Worlds, The Reframe) has buoyed my mood! Everyone has been so kind and supportive. Stay tuned… I have a few more opportunities in the pipeline, including an appearance focused on sharing my love of Nova Scotia!!

While life has felt perpetually out of regular routine for many months now, “normal” life will soon resume.

Tomorrow we go to see The Odyssey, which feels a bit wrong (mindless entertainment/escapism when things are so uncertain for people I love), but we booked tickets weeks ago and… I’m excited. We also need to go to the Apple Store because Belle’s refurbished phone has a camera malfunction that’s covered under warranty, and we need to get it fixed. Blergh.

Wednesday is bookended by appointments: a hair appointment for Belle in the morning and an orthodontist checkup in the afternoon. She was supposed to have a 6-week follow-up after her braces came off, but since we left for Europe almost immediately after they came off, it has become a 6-MONTH follow-up instead.

School starts on Thursday. The kids will reuse their existing zippered binders and bookbags. Their lunchboxes are… fine. We don’t tend to buy new things just for the sake of a new school year, and this year won’t be the time we start. Indy does need yet another pair of sneakers. I have never in my life known someone who can wear down footwear so quickly.

I’m trying not to think too far beyond this week. Today is about recuperation and a little bit of unpacking and laundry.

I had some posts already scheduled for this week, so I’ll likely go back to “regular programming” on the blog tomorrow and will keep you posted as things evolve.

Thanks again for the support. It has meant a lot to me <3