There was a time when I thought I could do it all on my own - juggle life, and keep my sanity. But, over time, I’ve realized that there really is no way to accomplish this, and really, I am grateful for that.
It’s been just over 10 years since I first realized that life likes to throw unexpected curveballs, and since then, I’ve learned to rely on people when needed, and not feel guilty about it.
For the past few years, while life has been busy, our little family has been able to find our own sort of routine, and I had nearly forgotten what it felt like to have my day, and my week, turned upside-down rather unexpectedly.
For more than a decade, my husband has dealt with an undiagnosed seizure disorder, and while the reason behind his medical issues still remains unknown, we had learnt to accept the situation, and live life. Thankfully, things continued to get better as the months and years went on.
This past month though, has been a tough one. Watching your spouse deal with concussions, and recovering from having a couple big seizures, quite close together, obviously doesn’t get any easier.
And while I’ve developed some of my own coping mechanisms, I am amazed and grateful each time we hit a rough patch to see the support we have, through family and friends offering to help. Even having people simply ask how we are doing can make a bad day seem much better.
So, after my “day off” for the week turned into a day spent at the hospital last week, it took me about 24 hours to realize I couldn’t do everything on my own. I made it through that first day simply on adrenaline, getting through a couple volunteer jobs that same evening, and in between things, getting my son to his first baseball practice of the year.
By Wednesday, I knew I had to give myself a time out, and I did, spending the majority of the day at home, catching up on small jobs, and spending time with my husband. But, volunteer duties again called as my other son had his first soccer practice of the season, and as the coach of his team, we both headed out.
I’m sure I may have looked a little worse for wear, but we made it through that day too. Thursday and Friday felt a little bit more normal, or at least normal for us, but as the weekend approached, I realized my husband needed more time to recover, and I had once again booked myself back-to-back with work and more.
Without even thinking twice, the boys were sent off to their grandparents, who are purposely our next-door neighbours, for this very reason. They played, and ate, and in the midst of what was a stressful week, smiled and bonded.
By Sunday night, while I felt exhausted, I also felt fulfilled. Not because I accomplished everything that had been on my week-long to-do list, but because I did it with so many helping hands.
