This weekend was great! Austin and Katie were in town and Austin spent it with us while Katie was hanging out with her fam across the lake. It was so good to have him home and with Shannon. It’s been a hard road for all three of them (for all of us), and having time together is such a blessing. This was the first time Austin has been with Shannon since the car crash. Reunions these days are a little rough, but we are tackling this as a family and I can see so many ways that we are becoming stronger and closer because of it.
We also celebrated another birthday this weekend. When you have 8 kids (plus some spouses) and 5 grandkids, there are a lot of birthdays to squeeze into the crazy.
In other news- no therapies for Shannon this week. So she’s living the luxury life. Well- as luxury as it can be when you live at our house. Sleeping in until noon.....watching movies all day......and night. People making your food. ‘Farm boy, fetch me that pitcher’ ‘as you wish.....’.
Shannon is always gracious with the compliments (cute butt Jake) and the scores (7/10 on that transfer Austin).
In case you are wondering how we are faring sans Rachael....I should probably say we are such a hot mess we can’t even find Shannon!! That way Rachael will come running back to rescue us. But the truth is, we are adjusting well, for now. It’s only been a week and SHANNON IS STILL ALIVE. So ya. Since that’s pretty much my only goal each day, keeping her alive, we are 100% successful. Sometimes she even smells nice— as do I. *showers optional
I was chatting with a friend today about Mama stuff. It’s a hard job. You mamas know. She has mama guilt, daughter guilt, all the guilt. Same. I again wish I could duplicate myself to be all the things my family needs. I told her how amazing she is for doing the hard things she has to do. She later in our conversation told me the same thing about my hard things. Turns out we should listen to our own advice.
So, mamas reading this: YOU are AMAZING!! You are doing such hard things every day. Your hard things might not look like another mama’s hard things, but that’s why they aren’t yours; they are their’s. You are making good decisions. You are prioritizing things the best you can. Take a break from the guilt, from the feelings of inadequacy. Take an actual break- for yourself. Put the babies in a safe place and hide in the closet with your caffeine and chocolate (or whatever your treat is) for 10 mins. They won’t die from crying for a few mins. Your 5 year old might repaint the walls with peanut butter and mustard, but that’s what dad is for (or just leave it). And as hard as it is to believe, they only say mean things to you and act up because they know that no matter what they do, YOU are the one they TRUST to love them still. You’re doing a great job!!! You are a true HERO.
Shannon is still sweat free!!! And she is loving every minute of it- literally. She tells me all the time. But, the struggle with blood pressure is still very real.
Please pray for Shannon’s blood pressure issues to stop, for her to continue to get stronger and more independent, and for her to find joy in each day!
Thank you for loving Shannon and for loving us!!
"A true hero isn't measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart." -- Zeus (Hercules)
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