Alright, we are getting ready for 2020 hoping for the perfect year. Sitting and thinking about this, I am reflecting on 2019. Have you reflected from the past year?
2019 was such a year for us, many not so great things happened. Yes, I am ready for the new year but not as much as many would think.
This past year in late March my whirlwind of a year got even crazier. My husband, Chris, fell out of the attic trying to help me get Easter eggs out. He ended up shattering his right heel. He was handing stuff down the ladder and a popcorn tin from the side started to fall. Being the gentleman he is, he tried to kick the metal can out of the way since I was at the bottom. Needless to say, he slipped and fell down the ladder. The tin hit me in the head, and he body slammed into me, knocking us both to the ground. I was in a state of confusion but thankfully some great friends came to the rescue and got us off to urgent care. I only ended up with a minor concussion and very stiff.
This sent the week into craziness. Do you know how hard it is to find a doctor to work on a foot, let alone a heel? Thanks for the wonderful people at Jayhawk Foot and Ankle, Chris ended up needing surgery with a plate and screws in his heel. Surgery took forever long cause it was worse then expected.
The next few weeks went by as I was trying to take care of the kids, homeschool, take the kids to activities, take Chris to doctors. Chris was just getting back to work and working from home when the night before the kids First Communion, the leg of his scooter caught the edge of the couch and he flipped over the handle bars. I saw it happening this time, in slow motion. Its like when you see your kids getting hurt but can’t do anything about it and your breath leaves you. I was so scared and worried he had hurt his foot and ankle again, even though it was in a boot.
Well, turns out he never let the foot or ankle hit the ground and caught himself with his hands. He wasn’t sure anything was broken he just hurt under his watch. I made him take the watch off and you can see his hand wasn’t straight. So off to the ER this time since it was close to midnight. This time he broke his wrist.
On Monday we headed into another doctor’s office. This doctor was so nice and great with dealing with us after two injuries. I wanted to wrap him in a bubble. We wanted to get him in as soon as possible Thankfully, they called us later that day and gave us notice he had an appointment at 7am the next day. So off to surgery we go. Well, let me tell you something, Chris doesn’t like to do anything easy….surgery took longer cause it was in more pieces then expected and he needed another plate, screws, and pins this time.
Then after he got back to the office and working fully at both jobs, we find out his boss is retiring and he won’t have a job as July 31. This was such news to us, we decided it was best to sell the house and move in with my grandparents. Which he also is still not working full hours but piecing jobs together.
So you would think after all the bad this year I couldn’t wait for the new year….well I am excited to see what happens but I also had to look for the good more than I ever had in my life.
What Have I Learned:
1. Nothing is Guaranteed.
– I am not used to my husband being the one hurt or sick, it is normally me.
Friends and Family
Friends and family that you didn’t even know would step up and help. I didn’t have to cook dinner or many meals the first week after both surgeries. At first, I turned this down. I am not use to having help or having ones who want to help me. It was such a blessing. Some also took my kids for the day or helped get them to field trips.
So, I also learned it is OKAY to receive help.
God
God has a plan but we might never realize it or see it. I still don’t understand all that has happened and hopefully I will in time, but I do see lots of little things and pieces He moved to make all this happen and to make me believe in Him more again.
Chris
Yes, he got hurt, but I haven’t seen him much in the last several years with so many full-time jobs that I got to reconnect with him. I got to realize how much stress and anxiety the office was causing him. I got to see him recover and see glimmers of the Chris that I fell in love with and one, to be honest, I hadn’t seen much of. As we just celebrated our 12 year anniversary this week I also just get to see my husband and see him be the Daddy he has always wanted to be. And trying to make sure I didn’t get hut, he got hurt himself for always being a gentleman.
Our Kids, Braden, and Elizabeth
Our kids stepped up so much, not only with helping take care of Daddy making sure he has ice packs, meds, but they also helped with keeping the house clean, with laundry. Then when we found out we were moving I knew I wanted to be packed and out in a month to get it on the market. These two helped pack and moved so many boxes and found strength in themselves too.
A House is Just a House
It was hard saying goodbye to our first house. The kids and I grew up a lot in this house and its really the only place my kids have known. But after some adjustments of moving we realized really you can be a family anywhere. We are just thankful to have a roof over our heads.
Doctors
Chris has had a great team of doctors with his injuries. Just in the past week he was cleared from the foot doctor, he will still have pain and some trouble and needs to learn to walk and use it correctly. He was cleared from the arm doctor about 3 months ago.
Prayers can be answered in unexpected ways but when this much bad happened, I started to open up and pray more….prayers I had been praying weekly at church but new prayers too. It also helped me take another leap in faith with doing more here in the digital world. We have talked about doing digital stuff forever and this year we took the jump and let the kids start a YouTube channel and we are going to start actually doing something with our blog. I have been a chicken with failing at another business but to realize I never failed at photography it was just a season of life.
Grandparents
I have always had a special bond with my grandparents but its been such a wonderful thing to see their bound grow between Chris, Braden, and Elizabeth. They even have a sweet spot for Cookie too. They have taken us in and taught us. In the first two months we had eaten dinner together as a family more then we had in the first 11 years we had been together. That in itself has been special. We will cherish every moment with them as we help them and they help us.
A great and wonderful season that was just finished so I could move on to something better.
Find the Good Challenge
So yes, I am ready for 2019 but it’s because even with the bad, I can’t wait to see what good it brings too. Even if you had a horrible year, I challenge you to come up with just three things, anything that was good about 2019. I even challenged the rest of the family. Their answers are below.
Chris
1. Getting to spend more time with my family.
2. Getting to go on vacation with my family.
3. Finally leaving my primary job even if not under the best circumstances.
Braden
1. Experiencing new things.
2. Going to St. Louis a lot to see family
3. Starting our YouTube channel.
Elizabeth
1. Spending time with my family – especially my Daddy.
2. Going on a family vacation.
3. Riding all the rides at Walt Disney World.
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