I really want to publicly thank the heroes who came to my rescue last Friday. Sure, I've written them all thanks but these people are true, amazing friends, the kind you can call at 3:00am when all chaos breaks loose.
First of all, our friends S & H from Jay's old office. I really thought it best to call on someone who doesn't have kids of their own to juggle while watching my kids for an unknown period of time. S & H were the ones who received that 3am phone call from Jay and S met me in the ER quickly, picked up my boys, traded cars, drove my boys home and put them to bed before crashing in our guest room for a few more hours until sunrise. He kept my kids occupied with games in the morning until back-up arrived. He served us incredibly in our time of need and knowing my boys were safe with someone they knew took so much stress off my mind. Thanks guys, we love you!
Then at 7am, Jay called our friend B for back-up. He has grown kids out of the house but he was the perfect one to call even if it meant he had to call off every single meeting he had on his calendar that day. He rushed over to our house, helped my boys get dressed, took them out to breakfast, back to his house to pick up a few things and to play with Zeke the Golden Retriever, then out to lunch at McDonald's and then to the park to play. I'm sure my boys kept him busy and entertained at the same time. He served us for 8+ hours until my mom arrived at 4pm and took over. Thanks, B. I owe you Chicken Biryani, Deep Dish Pizza and so much more!
To all of you who kept up with my Facebook status updates and called and texed during the day, thank you! I really didn't feel alone knowing you were all a phone call or text away. A laptop or a webphone would have been nice to read your comments, prayers and well wishes as you sent them, but they were wonderful to read when I returned home Friday night. Your prayers carried me through emotionally and physically!
My neighbor and hospital ER doc (he had just left the ER when I was driving myself in), visited me after surgery and brought beautiful flowers in a ceramic mug that will surely become one of my favorites for tea. Not only was it awesome to have a visitor on that crazy day, but it was nice to see his bedside manner and his empathy for me when I was feeling and looking my worst. Thanks, T. Thanks a million!
With all the texts and phone calls and chaos I had completely forgotten that my oldest boy had an event to attend on Saturday morning. Thankfully, this was on the radar of my friend T who texted back and forth trying to figure out a way to get C to the Mayor's Run early on Saturday morning whether I was home or still in the hospital. She picked up my boy bright and early on Saturday and took him downtown for the run, found him in the crowd at the finish line and brought him home. Thanks for remembering my boy, T and for shuttling him around so he could still enjoy the event he was looking forward to. He was probably completely exhausted, but he really enjoyed it and thanks you too.
My friend M brought over some grocery items for lunches on Saturday when I was home. She knew my mom would have dinners covered as long as she stayed here, but M brought over deli meats, cheeses and rolls for sandwiches. This really made an impression on my mom and we love the idea. We'll both be paying it forward to friends in the future with a similar gesture. Not having to think through lunches really took the pressure off my mom and it served her greatly. Thanks, M!
I'm thankful for my friend A who stopped by to visit once I was home. Our families have been travelling a similar, scary road together over the last couple of months and it was nice to talk to each other about our pending moves, housing markets, real estate transactions and stuff other than the mess I was in that weekend.
My neighbor K brought over warm brownies and a card colored by her 2 cute kids and it's still on my fridge. Her husband B mowed my lawn for me on Sunday after a busy, insane, crazy week of his own at work, probably his biggest week of the year. There was a potential house showing for us the next day and we knew we'd need someone to help us mow and B was there. My other neighbor S might help me mow this weekend because I don't think starting the mower will feel good to my midsection. We'll see, S. I might have to take you up on it, but I'll be able to pick up the doggie landmines first! I seriously cry ugly tears at the thought of leaving such awesome neighbors!
I can't thank my friend J enough for putting together a meal calendar for after my mom left. Here's the thing: the last few days I have felt great and I texted J last night to tell her to please cancel these meals. I can't accept them knowing there are other families out there who could use assistance more than I can right now. I'm happy to announce that I can bend to get pots and pans and get things into the oven. I have enough energy during the day to cook 1 meal and serve easy stuff like cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch. Today I ventured out to get a few groceries (I'm still not allowed to lift more than 10 pounds) to make lasagna on Sunday at my boys request. So thanks to J for texting and emailing and coordinating and I'm sorry to cancel all your hard work. Thanks to those of you who signed up to help. Please go serve someone in greater need and bless them instead! J also sent me some awesome teas to enjoy as I rest and relax at home. We've talked about getting together one night after all the kids are in bed just so we can enjoy a night of girl talk! Yes, please!!!
My friend T did bring dinner last night though. Yesterday was the first day I wasn't dog tired but the day before I was still just exhausted and thought a meal on Thursday night would be OK. But it was still hard to accept yesterday, but I did because I knew she'd already grocery shopped and prepared the meal for us. I appreciated the meal because it meant I didn't have to over-do myself on my first day of feeling close to 100%. T, you'll have to tell me what was in the creamy white sauce in the Meatball Casserole because it was SO GOOD! Cream cheese? Sour cream? Recipe please!
The doctors, nurses, my husband and my mom are the real heroes here though. My husband talked to me through the midnight pain and talked to the boys, arranged childcare from the west coast, dealt with new insurance to make sure we'd be covered. The hospital staff took care of me physically, particularly when I was miserably waiting forever to get pain meds post-op back in my room. Even the administration was awesome with me, understanding that I was alone with 2 kids. They assured me that's exactly when these emergencies happen! Probably true and they must see it every single day.
Mother's Day will be extra hard for me this year because of what my mom just did for me last week. She's amazing! She took my phone call at 5:30am and drove 8 hours to get here. She took care of my boys all evening and picked me up at the hospital at 9pm when I was discharged. She paid for my prescription when my insurance didn't work at Walgreen's. She put my boys to bed and got me settled in at home. She shopped, she cleaned, she entertained, she gardened, she served. She's Supermom! I wish I could see her in person this Sunday to throw my arms around her, give her the gift I ordered (that just arrived on my doorstep today), and thank her for being the most amazing mom ever. I hate the idea of moving even further away from her but I pray that retirement could mean she'll spend some winter months out in CA with us. I love you, mom! You are amazing!
Now that I'm sobbing over the gratefulness for my heroes, I'll end here. My friends taught me the true meaning of friendship and I'll be a better friend because of those who served me. Go out and be a hero to someone. Help someone in need with a few groceries, some flowers, a visit and a chat. It will serve them and will teach them more than you know and hopefully they'll pay it forward. I will. Will you?
I am so happy your are better!! You have been in my prayers my friend!
ReplyDeleteSheila