Luckier Than Most

On Saturdays we look for the good in people.  Well, this Saturday there’s only one thing I could tell you about, and that is how lucky I am to have the people that I have in my life.

Yesterday I took a turn for the worse (yet again) in my pregnancy.  I had severe pain in my legs and my back was killing me, so I made an appointment with the chiropractor. I dropped my boys off at my grandma’s house, where everyone had congregated after a day of garage saling (my aunts, cousin, and all the kids).  I went to the appointment, came back and laid down for a bit.  Unfortunately, I only started to feel worse.

A few hours later, the contractions had gotten closer together, and then all of the sudden I spiked a fever of nearly 103 degrees. We called the doctor’s answering service, and when my doctor called me back, he said I had to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I was not a happy camper.  This would be my third trip to the hospital this pregnancy, and the thought of going again and getting sent home again just made me cry.

And so, the whirlwind of my helpers had begun yet again.  My aunt Jeannie, “aunt Barb”, aunt Kathy (who’s visiting from Boston…lucky her!) and Grandma Shirl took care of my kids all afternoon, and then when it was time to head to the hospital, my cousin Elyse was there within minutes to meet me, Matt, and Kathy.  They hooked me up to the monitors, checked me for the usual complications, and yet again everything came back negative.  And of course my temperature was back to completely normal by the time we got there.  Only the leg pain remained, and they had not a single suggestion for that.

So, around 10:30 last night, we headed home.  My dad had come to relieve everyone else, taking my kids to his house (where my mom also happens to be sick…what a mess!).  Matt headed straight to bed, because he works at 1:30 am on Saturdays.  My aunt Kathy stayed with me, helped me get to bed, and then my aunt Jeannie came for the overnight shift to make sure I was ok during the night.  She was there when I woke up, made me some toast (and even cut it the way I like it…maybe she can teach Matt a thing or two!), and when she headed off to church this morning, Elyse was there to replace her.  Elyse stayed all morning with me, helped me get up and get ready, and drove me over to my grandma’s house so that I could be with my boys.  And yet another day today of everyone helping us…as I write this, at 9:30 tonight, they are all just now getting back from taking Sam for a good walk down by the river, and I will now be heading home to get the boys to sleep.

How many people can say they are this lucky?  To have a literal army of helpers, family members, who love them and are willing to show up at a moment’s notice to take care of your every need.  I hope that I never take for granted what I have in my life.