So have you ever had one of those days where everywhere you turn life is in a state of disorder and chaos (ie. The kids nearly emptied an entire box of Kleenex's out on the floor when you weren't looking and then the baby found them and started eating them.)?
The past couple of weeks seem to be riddled with those days. I was getting a bit frustrated with the chaos and commotion of my life. Jack wasn't sleeping through the night, I was trying to break him but it wasn't working. I was even more sleep deprived than I'd been in quite a while (which is pretty bad) and it was beginning to catch up with me.
Needless to say, I think my kind and loving Heavenly Father decided I needed a hard earned break. I put Jack to bed last night at 10:30pm, finished up a few things, and then collapsed into bed myself at 11:30p.m. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again it was 7a.m. I felt so good I got up, made pancakes for breakfast, started a load of laundry, folded some clothes and took a shower. Jack woke up just as I was getting dressed at 8a.m.!!! I felt so good. I haven't had eight hours of sleep in soooooo long.
I was getting things done right and left today and I've felt pretty good. I got a call from Joe in the afternoon that put a rather large bump in my road, however. Joe's cousin, who is a mother of three and just a little younger than myself (which is pretty darn young) found a tumor in her left cheek a couple years ago. She has endured six surgeries, three major, and just had another surgery last week. They had told her they were pretty confident they got everything out and that the nerves they had grafted from her foot were not damaged and would be able to keep her face looking fairly normal (the grafts were done last year after the second surgery done to remove the cancer).
We went and saw her on Saturday and she was in pretty good spirits. Her face had started swelling though and she was getting pretty nervous about it's cause and was worried the incision wasn't draining properly. They found out she had gotten shingles from the stress of the surgery and that had caused the swelling. Anyhow, she was feeling optimistic that she would be able to return to her family today when the biopsy of her cheek came in.
The biopsy found that the cancer is in her cheek and they will have to completely remove it in order to have any chance of eliminating the cancer.
A room littered with Kleenexes seems like pretty small potatoes now. She is so young, her family is so young. Her oldest is just younger than Clay and her baby is only two months...it seems so unfair. She is beautiful and has always been so fashionable. My heart breaks when I think of what she must be feeling. My troubles seem so insignificant, so trivial.
I am so very grateful to be healthy, to have healthy children. To have a husband who can care for and provide for us. We have a beautiful home and food to eat. We have life. I want to cherish this time...it is so very precious and so very fragile.
3 comments:
Wow, what an incredible post Audri... thanks for putting things in perspective for all of us.
I do have to say that I've ALWAYS wanted to pull tissues out of the box as fast as I could... maybe I should come and hang out with your kids. :)
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry about your cousin...seriously, I can't imagine how hard that must be.
I'm glad you got some sleep! What a difference it makes.
Thanks for the perspective, Audri. I think sometimes I forget how truly blessed I am. The other day I was all upset because a person from the ward dropped in on me and my house was completely trashed...I was so embarrassed about it. I guess what I forget is that it really isn't a big deal in the long run, and even if that person cared what my house looked like it really doesn't matter because my family is healthy and happy, my husband has a job, and we are doing just fine.
Congratulations on the full-night's sleep! Isn't it great when something so small can make you so happy! Now hopefully he decides to make this a regular occurance!
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