catching her when she falls
THANK YOU for all your sweet comments on the blog & facebook yesterday. We went in for a check up hoping the doctor would say she could get the cast off, but there were no guarantees. When he turned around from the x-ray and said she was ready to be cast free…well, that was a wonderful moment. She did amazing with the cast saw. Her poor little joints were so stiff and sore. It was bittersweet.
Yesterday she woke up wanting to wear shorts. In the last 7 weeks she’s never even pointed to her shorts and then this morning I couldn’t get them on her fast enough. I wasn’t prepared for the flood of memories that would come with pulling little shorts up her legs. The last time I saw her in shorts was in the ER. A nurse with big scissors was cutting them off her. I had held it together pretty good that night until they began cutting my daughter’s shorts. I had forgotten about that moment until I found myself tugging at another pair of little Target shorts. But we got them on and now my last memory of her in shorts is of her sheer determination to push through pain and try to walk. She’s hardcore. She learned to climb our staircase in her cast the day before she got it off.
Earlier this week I spotted a tiny turtle on our back porch. Somehow the 4 boys in this house convinced me it would be a great pet.
Meet Lightning. He’s really fast.
Yesterday was the last day of school. My oldest’s best friend came home with him and I decided it was in Lightning’s best interest to be released. Boys and tiny living creatures are not a good combination – no matter how hard the boys try to be gentle. I strapped FireCracker to my back, carried Littlest Brother on my front and hiked to a beaver pond close by to give Lightning a new home. My dad said the beavers wouldn’t eat the turtle….
He was fast in the water too.
And headed home.
I spent the day watching out for a little turtle, making lunches, doing laundry, sweeping the floor, editing pictures….and helping my daughter learn to walk. Chris was in Joplin providing meals to those that have faced tremendous devastation. So much of me wanted to be in Joplin helping and serving. I wanted to help. I wanted to serve. All I could think was I was home helping a turtle.
Sometimes being a mom is hard. It is hard for me to remember that I am serving when I am at home. I didn’t get to feed the hurting in Joplin yesterday. I did get to walk behind my daughter all day to catch her when her weak leg gave way. Being a mom is not always glamorous, but I got to cheer as she learned to pull up again, Most of what moms do goes unnoticed and without a thank you. Being a mom is not for the faint of heart.
Yesterday, I helped my boys say goodbye to their first pet.
Yesterday, I got to teach my boys about putting the best interests of someone else (a turtle) before what they wanted.
Yesterday, my daughter began to learn to walk again.
Yesterday, I got to catch my daughter when she fell.
We were told it would be a few days before she’d even attempt to stand. They don’t know my daughter.