Sweet Friday

I can hardly believe that a week has gone by since Shawn was discharged from the 

hospital.  It feels as if we have lived a lifetime this past week, the days stretching longer 

and more full than I ever thought possible.  After leaving the hospital, we spent the 

night with Shawn's family in Arizona, enjoying dinner and our first night of freedom.  It 

was the first night my husband and I were able to sleep side by side in the same bed, 

my anxiety high as I cautiously watched him sleep.  Though I was happy to be out of 

the hospital, the pressure of being responsible for his well-being, the fear of something 

going wrong: it weighed heavily on my heart.  I prayed myself to sleep that night, focusing 

all my energy on being thankful that I could rest my head on his chest as I have done 

so many nights before.

We left early the next morning: Shawn, Uncle Gary, Uncle Scott, and myself.  We drove 

24 straight hours home to Louisiana, the uncles switching places back and forth behind 

the driver's seat, Shawn summoning all of his strength and patience to sit in a moving

 vehicle for that long.  We talked and listened to each other's stories, stopped at 

questionable truck stops, laughed and made the most of our time together.  This 

whole experience has brought our family so much closer and the ride home was the 

perfect way to solidify it all.  

As we drove down the long driveway leading up to our house, I felt a deep sense of 

peace  and reassurance.  We were home, our home, the place we feel most alive, 

most comfortable.  We held our little girls for the first time in weeks, followed them

 around the house as they showed us all the cards and gifts they had made for us while 

we were gone.  We gathered around the kitchen table and enjoyed my mama's home 

cooking, bonding over a hot meal the Louisiana way.  It was a very surreal moment:

 realizing that we had made it, thankful to be present and together, but also sad that we 

had missed so much.  Three weeks had gone by and the world had continued to move 

and change and grow while we were gone.  Where do we fit in now?  How do we pick up 

the pieces and move on?

And so we have spent the last few days trying to figure that out.  We immediately set

 to work unpacking and organizing, rearranging the house to make Shawn more

 comfortable, holding Brees as much as she requested and reading Isabelle an extra story 

or two before bed.  I ran errands, returned phone calls, bought groceries and became

 a regular at the pharmacy.  We went to the first of many follow-up appointments 

with Shawn's long list of doctors, a successful visit that left our spirits high.  I cooked 

and cleaned and gave our pets some much needed attention, watered plants and 

called repairmen.

This is the next chapter, the part of our story that involves us binding together as a

 family and making the most of this situation.  The trauma and stress will not break us, 

we are so much stronger than that.  Through faith, love, and hard work: we made it

 through this week.  One small triumph after another, we will get through this.  

Together.