Homecoming!

In the aftermath of our OU Hospital stay, Dad greeted us with Mom's walker as we got to their front door.  She did really well getting in and out of my car, then she went straight to her recliner, immediately reporting that it was "so much better" than her hospital chair.  YAY!

Pic around 9 PM that night after Rach picked Jace up from football practice - Kyndal had been blowing up lots of balloons for her Thunder-themed party the next day! ❤

Mom changed out of her hospital gown and settled in to rest for a bit while I rushed home to shower and grab an overnight bag, then pick up her prescriptions before the Parrishes met us here for dinner (we got Rib Crib; they got Taco Casa - no one was doing any cooking work that night).  Here's our family dinner pic (Jace was at football practice from 6-8).

A cake for the Miss K's birthday eve with the fam!

Dad and Jace chatting about football over dessert

It was very good to be back home, and we both slept much better without the ever-present hospital soundtrack in the background!

Since then, Mom has had visits from the Myricks, Kristie, Mrs. Garner, the Whitakers, and the Wilson fam!  Mrs. Garner praying for her: "Lord, we thank You for the angels that were her seatbelt, and we thank you that she'll be wearing her seatbelt from today forward." lol #Amen

Katie offered to take LifeGroup back this weekend, which was perfect.  Chet Lee returned my call right as I pulled into Katie's driveway.  My time feels so limited, and I was mildly upset that I hadn't been able to talk with him on the 30-minute drive there.  A few seconds into our convo, he asked me if everything was okay, and even I was caught off guard by how quickly and intensely I started crying! lol

Big picture - Mom is doing very well, and we're glad to be home!  That's the general script, and it is true but incomplete.  The closeup view for those who really care is different.  We had a scary moment on Friday where an unknown random arm movement caused her broken rib to move in just such a way that made it very hard for her to breathe.  It was so sudden and jarring, and hearing her take ragged breaths while trying to walk to her chair with only me there for support was hard.  She recovered pretty quickly once she was seated, and we both marveled at what on earth was that!?  Not too long afterward, she initiated a pretty intense "If I die..." kind of conversation (again with just me there).  I'll keep those details private, and I 1000% want to honor her wishes and am ready for deeper conversations like that whenever others want or need to have them!  I also understand the emotional pendulum swing, especially after being in a near-fatal car accident and being in the hospital for a week and hearing varied difficult news about her health status.  Since she's been back here, she moves from feeling pretty strong and overdoing it (trying to help decorate or clean for Kyndal's party) to feeling some hopelessness/anxiousness about the potential for recovery from such a major wound.  Praying with hope and expectation for those emotions to stabilize back out soon (for Mom and for myself), for strength and joy and good support as she continues to recover, and for legitimate pain management help! ❤

So anyway, discussing all of the above, I cried for a bit on the phone call with Chet Lee.  He handled it well and was quiet and kind and supportive -- ((in a later convo, he said, "Well, I've been trained to just stop and listen and give it some space..." I thought that was fantastic and wondered if it came from Bold or something.  I said "Oh, by who?"  And he said "...you!" lolol  I've laughed about that a few times since.  He and Karli made a trip to see us today, and it was great - more on that later tonight!))  Mmkay, so Ashley arrived late for LifeGroup and saw me crying pretty hard in my car, immediately running to open the door and hug me. lol  I went in soon afterward, and ended up talking with them (more calmly) about the whole situation - the pressure of caregiving, the sleep deprivation, the intense high and low emotions, and the added sadness/pressure that comes with realizing Dad's capacity to help here is more limited now.  We listened to Louie Giglio's Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table sermon, and it held lots of encouraging gems.  It was also just good for me to be there and feel that support - Natalie quietly grabbed my hand when I sat down and she could tell I'd been crying.  And my sharing started others down a similar path, so it was a pretty good and deep talk that morning!

We had a new woman join us who has a cute baby named Esther! ❤

Other than that, we've enjoyed our nightly FaceTime calls from Jace and Kyndal - hearing about his football scrimmages (he officially decided to stay at CHA for his 8th grade year, and we are thankful for God's protection there).

And the Miss K - always entertaining and ready with extra-detailed stories - perhaps she gets that from me! lol

More on her birthday next post!

❤ ❤ ❤