It's hard to believe that my fall was more than two weeks ago. Funny how time gets disturbed through an event like this...that the days and nights can seem like eternities away and yet the actual accident seems like it's ever right in front of me.

Pain has hovered between moderate and just this side of unbearable. Sleep has been difficult and sometimes nonexistent. And while I'm never one to be bored and have found a lot to do from my recliner, my attention span hasn't been good and so passing the days has been somewhat of a chore.

Yesterday was my birthday. It's not how I would have chosen to spend the birthday that plants me firmly in my mid-50's...as a matter of fact I kept having the sensation that perhaps this was really my 75th and no one wanted to tell me. But my magnificent family and friends colored the day with so many blessings that I couldn't end it with anything but gratitude, even if I have slipped in an extra twenty somewhere.

Since the happenings of the last two weeks put an end to our family's plans to vacation in the mountains of New Mexico next month, we've been huddling to come up with some alternate "stay-cation" plans. Anne, Caleb, Erin, and Judah arrive in a few days and will be spending several weeks with us, so we'll be sure to be a spectacle wherever we go, 27 strong!

The hospital, by the way, had the audacity to charge me for a week's worth of trays they call "meals." They should pay me.

I finally chose a Bible. One I'll be keeping this time. I've admitted that I can't find, and therefore can't have, all the features I'd like in one volume, so I made some compromises I can live with and am now looking forward to making this new one my own.

Father's Day never fails to fill me with wonder at the man God chose to be the father of my children. And one of the biggest blessings of my life is that all nine of our children KNOW what an extraordinary father they have and can express and give thanks for him. There's not much that can make a mother any happier than that...

At some point in the next few days I need to do some heavy-duty work on school planning. Like I've shared before, I have only five years left before this chapter of my life is closed and there is still so much I want to accomplish. May God slice through the distractions and the painkillers and fill me with the creativity and the motivation to make the coming year an unforgettable one!

For now I'm going to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is my first post-op appointment, including the ordeal of the removal of the staples, so I'd sure like to be going into that rested. If you think of me at 9:45 CT, pray for me...

Labels: Good Stuff, Health, Holidays, Homeschooling, Sundays, Vacations