SOL 30 Day Writing Challenge Day 26~ 15 Minutes Tops!

I am participating in the 30 Day Writing Challenge hosted by the team at Two Writing Teachers.  Only 6 more post (5 after this one) and I can't believe we are so close to the end of the challenge, I will be back next year, I still have more to discover about my life and writing! 


Yesterday as I was browsing through the many posts posted at Two Writing Teachers I saw a comment by @Betsy_Writes asking us to play a game with her.

The idea of playing a game intrigued me so I clicked right on over to Betsy's link.  Well, I am glad I did!  I found a few new blogs and left a few more comments than I usually do.  But, that's not all!  Betsy encouraged her readers to visit her friend Robin's Slice but, only if you're brave enough!  Did Betsy say If you're BRAVE ENOUGH??  Oh, game on, I love a challenge, a dare or whatever you want to call it!  I clicked on over to Robin's blog and laughed and laughed!  Go ahead, you know want to… click on the link but, make sure you come back because I have a TMI story too.  I even won a radio contest by sharing this story!  OK, I have probably have set your expectations too high, lessen your expectation and read on if you dare.

One day I ran a quick errand to our local mall with my 7 month old first born daughter.  As I pulled into a parking place I debated taking in the stroller.  It's so much to lug it out of the trunk and then back in, did I really need it?  I decided no, I was only ordering a wedding gift for a friend, I wouldn't have any packages and if things go well I will only be in there for 15 minutes tops!

So, I lifted my daughter out of the car seat and walked into the mall, confident that this shopping addicted mommy would be in and out in 15 minutes tops!  We walked into the mall, right at the women's clothes and make-up counters. The color of the new spring clothes and  the smells of the perfumes and clothes took over my senses and the next thing I knew I was browsing through the new spring clothes.

I'll just walk through and enjoy the spring clothes, it's on the way to housewares anyway!  Then it hit me,  I was pregnant last spring.  This spring I could get back into REAL clothes, no more panels, no more roomy smock tops WOW!  I could probably stand a small update to my spring clothes.  So I allowed myself to browse a little deeper…

The next thing I knew I found myself in a fitting room with a dress.  I sat my daughter on the floor, careful to make sure there were no pins or anything she could put in her mouth.  The bottom of the fitting room walls were open, I knew I would have to be quick, I knew it was a risk, but my daughter is pretty mild mannered, I am sure she will stay put.

I slipped off my jeans AND top. I turned to grab the dress to see the bottom of my daughters shoes just passing under the open wall!  OH NO!  Here I am in my underware  and my daughter is escaping the fitting room!  I had no choice, I ripped the dress from the hanger and held it to my front side and went to grab my daughter.  Well, being like her mommy she was in awe of the pretty colors and somehow had made in about 100 ft from the fitting room before I caught up to her!

Yep!  There I was in the MIDDLE of the store (near the mall entrance) in my undies chasing a crawling baby!  My daughter and I tried to make it back into the fitting room unnoticed and to this day I have no idea who may or may not have seen me but, it felt like the WORLD was watching. I never did try on the dress or go buy that wedding gift!
                                                                       So all-in-all we were out in 15 minutes tops!

Slice of Life Day 25- Searching for the Balance in Independence and Healing

I am participating in the Slice of Life 30 Day Writing Challenge.  Writing is reflective and a great way to discover more about your life.  To learn more about the challenge or read other Slice of Life posts visit Two Writing Teachers.

Little did I know the hard part was just beginning…

Thursday my husband was released from the hospital 3 days after having a five hour surgery on his back.  When the doctor asked "Are you ready to go home?"  My husband smiled for the first time in weeks. (He was very nervous about having the surgery and in a great deal of pain prior to the procedure).  I was excited to see him smiling and to be bringing him home, no more trips to the hospital, no more hospital food, no more tubes and no more insatiable beeping machines!

Home will be quiet, Tim will rest quietly and I will catch up on reading, writing and a few chores around the house. Tim and I can stay up late chatting and watching movies. This will be like mini "staycation."  Friends will come to visit and I will cook a few big meals that we can munch on thorough the week  and we will just sit back and rest, both of need to rest, this is going to be perfect.

Well, I wasn't entirely wrong…

 I am doing more writing, I am actually reading a fiction book for pleasure. (I am only on page 100 after 3 days… are you starting to see where this going?)  Tim is resting, and resting and resting.  He's too tired to even finish a 30 minute sitcom- so no movies.  We are having trouble getting the pain under control so I am setting an alarm for every 4 hours (yes, 24 hours a day) to make sure we keep his medication at the correct level to keep him comfortable.  So as you can imagine all these meds make late night conversations very one sided, I do get the best answers this way!

We do have friends and family dropping by to visit, bringing us food and keeping me balanced!  I am thankful for this because the homemade meatballs I planned to make Friday are just now (9PM Tuesday) simmering in the pot!  It seems just as I begin a task for the house or myself I need to be nurse. As I am working as a nurse I am not being an empathetic wife and as I work to be more of an empathetic wife I am acting like  I am his mom.  Where is the balance in making sure he is doing what he needs to heal and allowing him to have his independence and showing empathy?  I feel like the only approach I have is tough love.

I don't mean to be motherly or strict on him, it's just so difficult to see your anchor down when you both want him to be up on deck.  Maybe this isn't tough love or motherly maybe it's just necessary to bring him back to better than he was prior to surgery.

Working to find the balance~ taking each day slowly and lovingly.