Life in all it’s glory has been…not necessarily kicking my butt, but has been keeping me ridiculously busy and focused on things not involving writing in any way. I felt accomplished just to get a thank you note out to my aunt for the jards of jelly she sent for my birthday.
Anyway…Did you know it has been a year and a week since #3 had his devastating accident? He spent the anniversary on the beach with his wife, child, and in-laws. His MIL sent me a couple of pictures, with the comment that it was a much better way to spend the weekend than where we all were a year ago.
I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1
A year ago, we were by his bed, as he lay unconscious and badly injured in the ICU of a major medical center. We didn’t know if he’d ever wake up, or function in any sort of way.
Now, a year later, he not only functions, but has returned to work. Not as the industrial electricion electrition (dangit I can’t spell that word to save my life) ELECTRICIAN (there.) but still with the same company. He may never return to that particular job, which often frustrates him, but he is doing very well where he is. He is walking (with a little bit of a limp), talking (with a little bit of an impairment but not so much that you’d notice if you didn’t know it), functioning, being a Dad and a Husband and a Son. He’s alive and well.
Yesterday I was listening to a song “I’m Alive” by Kenny Chesney, and the sense of…whatever it was…overwhelmed me and made it kind of hard to function for a bit. It was a combination of gratitude that he was ok, and grief that his life was so irrevocably altered, and a bit of shame for that grief because…after all…he lived and is proof that God has His hand in every part of our lives, and knows more than highly educated neurologists at a teaching hospital. Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful for all those doctors and the hard work they put into him, but when they wrote #3 off as a lost cause, he proved them wrong.
Another cool thing…I saw an article online about one of the young men who was hit by a car the same day #3 had his accident. He was also written off and, in fact, they were disconnecting his life support. We had talked with the young man’s family in the waiting room and knew how badly he was hurt. And…he starts back at the local university this Summer. God was busy in the Neuro ICU that week. I want to locate him and see if he would be willing to meet up with #3 at some point.
#3 calls nearly every day, and comes by 2 or 3 times a week on his way home from work. He calls if he doesn’t come by (and sometimes if he does). He isn’t where (or even exactly who) he was May of 2018. Such an event changes a person. I think it’s changed all of us to some degree. He still tires easily, and sometimes the mental connections aren’t all there. But, he’s still my son, still alive, and my dog Rusty still dislikes him. He’s still Grandpunkin’s Daddy, and still, still alive. I look at him and see so much he’s gone through and is still smiling. So am I.
I’ve been taking care of The Grandpunkin one day a week, working on improvements on the house (adding a hot tub and about 1/2 done with a workshop for woodworking and welding. Because, I want to learn how to weld.) The guest bedroom is FINALLY (after 9 months) emptied of all the boxes and detritus that was stuffed in there when I got tired of looking at it in the great room. There is a comfortable bed in there, with a small dresser and a chair, curtains on the window and a new comforter and pillows. The house is comfortable and getting there.
Life isn’t perfect. It never is. But, it can be good at times, and I choose to embrace those times and be thankful for them.
Because it really is personal... 