Stretching

Hugged between Halloween and Christmas, November has been a rough month for us for many years.   Every year we have had surgery, scheduled and unscheduled appointments in Ft. Worth off set to our classroom responsibilities.   November brings us both Rachael and Jasmine’s birthdays and of course Thanksgiving.  

This year, this semester, the past thirty days have been exceedingly stressful.  Ongoing issues with Liberty’s health coverage and missing or wrong or late paperwork has caused  parts of my world to come apart.   For over three weeks our attendants were not being paid.  I didn’t know from day to day whether or not the attendants would be able to take care of Libby so I could go to work.  Stress.   

Here’s one truth: there is no place for me to take Liberty during the day unless it we take her to an individual.  There is no “day care” for Libby.  Another truth: she can’t stay home everyday as it would not bode well for her health.   Think of anyone you know who is disabled and how quickly their body devolves once they begin staying home everyday. Libby, like many others, thrives on her interactions with people.   We have to keep pushing her to keep going with us.  

Libby has never been stiffer.  She is getting her relief pills before she gets out of bed as she is so stiff that I struggle to get her clothes on.  Her DBS battery checks out normal and everything that we can control is normal.   We know that the effectiveness of the Botox she has been getting for years is waning.   As her conditions progress we are to expect her be more and more rigid.  We have to keep her moving.  We go

for a visit in December.      

Two weeks ago we lost the amazing Tatum Schulte and Brandi Wilkinson.  The very young and brave Tatum had been battling cancer for several years with a bravado that is hard to find.  We didn’t know this young lady except through prayer chains and awareness posts.  The ever talented Brandi was a student of mine who I loved dearly.  Dearly.  She was a part of a very special group of writers who were in our Spoken Word poetry group.  The loss of these young ladies hit me in ways I can’t explain.   There is no rhyme or reason when these things happen.  We have been blessed to keep Libby with us for many years past what the doctors predicted.  Continued prayers for these families and friends. 

So, I’m not sure if hugging November is in order for me or not.   This year we are home for the big Turkey day- knocking on wood.  Want to run the Turkey trot, watch the parade, bake all the stuffs, eat a lot, and laugh with our beloveds. Want all the Christmas stuff up as we finish this semester.   Want to do, feel, see all of it. As we are surrounded by immeasurable blessings, we will be pushing the stressors away.   Knocking them down as we keep going and going.   Not only do we have to, but we GET to keep stretching ourselves.  That is part of our truth.