In an effort to keep life as normal as possible for our children, every planned event we had prior to the stroke, we are making every effort to continue with. This means we have some very busy weekends planned. This weekend was no exception.
Rylee tried out for all region band in December. She was the only junior high trumpet player to make it from Bentonville. There were over 150 7-9th grade trumpeters across the region to try out. 24 made it. She was 6th chair in the concert band. We are so proud of Rylee. She has worked so hard to perfect her playing abilities. Well, yesterday was the concert in Mountain Home, a little over 3 hour car ride.
I wasn't sure if Marty was going to make it or not. I wasn't sure how I would tell Rylee we weren't coming. This week had been so hard. Marty was exhausted. He needed his rest. However, when he got up, he was ready to go. The ride to Mountain Home is very windy through the Ozarks. Marty knew there was no way I was going to be able to read what he would write on his notepad. He was concerned that he would need to communicate and wouldn't be able to. He wrote, "Is there some app we can put on here so I type and it talks" With a little searching, I found Verbally. It's a free app that does exactly that.
When he was playing with the app, he saw the word, "please". He pointed at it and then wrote, "I don't understand that word". How do you explain please to a 40 year old man? I told him it's a word you use when you ask someone for help and it makes it extra nice. I told him its another special word from the heart like thank you.
Overall on our trip he was in great spirits. He rested most of the time. Marty only ended up using the IPAD to talk twice. "What is Addy doing?" She didn't come with us as she had other plans with friends. "Will she make me cookies". I called Addyson and sure enough she had time to make cookies. Marty was so happy to think he'd have fresh baked cookies waiting for him at home.
Marty seemed to really enjoy the concert. He was tapping his leg to the rhythm and looked more relaxed than I have seen him in a long time. He was a little sensitive to a smell in the auditorium. I was concerned that was going to ruin everything, but he was able to push through it.
We got back into town a little sooner than I had expected. I decided to take the family out to dinner. We don't do that very often. I called Addyson to see if she and Connor would like to join us. She wanted to, but Connor wouldn't join us. He feels like he's intruding on family time. Silly boy. When trying to decide where to go, I settled on Olive Garden. They had a 45 minute to an hour wait. I asked Marty if that was too long. He shrugged his shoulders and wrote, "Does this place have good food". All of us assured him it did, so we waited. We waited, and waited and waited. At the hour mark, after noticing the lobby was thinning out, I went to check and see how much longer. They didn't have us on the list. We had a pager and I showed them where we had signed in. They were extremely apologetic and worked to find us a table right away. They even comped us two appetizers. The girls thought that was great! Because of the two appetizers, we have enough leftovers to feed an army!
After we got home and were winding down from a long day in the car, Marty wrote, "I know you don't like to ask for help. I don't either. But friends keep asking what they can do for us. Will you think about letting people bring us meals. It would take some stress off both of us."
I have thought about this all night long. I am such an independent person, and a control freak. I don't want to relinquish control over anything if I don't have to. I then thought back to a message someone sent me early on:
I'm going to benefit more from my service anyways, so don't hold back on my blessings!!!;)
Wise words from a 16 year old boy :). Thanks Tucker! I reluctantly sent a message to our Relief Society President and Compassionate Service leader at church this morning. Even as I sit here typing this I am in tears. I am so humbly grateful for all the service our family has received. We feel so blessed to be surrounded by loving friends.
I have come to recognize this journey will be a marathon and not a sprint. I pray there aren't as many days as there are steps in a marathon. I pray that we have more days filled with sunshine and happiness then blisters and body aches. This weekend we pushed through a huge wall and we will continue to fight. I know there are lots more walls ahead of us. I am grateful for all the love and support we have received to help us keep on the good fight. 1 Timothy 6:12
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.
3 comments:
I have either got to stop reading your posts, which AIN'T gonna happen, or I have to put some tissues by this computer!! Jeez, girl. I would be happy to provide you guys with a meal. In fact, how would Marty feel about having company for dinner one night? Lloyd and I would love to visit, and I could fix stuff to bring, and we could share! Not on a day when things have been tough for both of you OR maybe because a day HAS been tough on both of you. I truly doesn't matter to us, but we would enjoy doing that if you would let us. I don't want Marty to be overwhelmed or you either, for that matter. AND right now, being overly tired is not good for either of you either! SO, let me know what you think, and we'll set a day and time for a dinner date. I would enjoy that and Lloyd would too. I'm a little like Conner in that regard. You do need your family time. However, if you are willing to share, I am willing to share. Just let me know the favorite dishes of the gang,and we we'll do what we can. Love to you and Marty and the girls. Roberta
After reading this post a thought came to mind. It is a quote I found that I shared with my sister last year, who was an avid runner, and was diagnosed with cancer. I hope this helps, even if just a bit.
"In the 110-meter hurdles race, runners must jump over hurdles placed in their path. The hurdles are not there so that a runner will come to them and stop and, discouraged, go back to the starting line. They are not there to make him crash. The beauty and excitement of this race is to jump over the hurdles, to overcome the obstacles.
If we understand the importance of obstacles in our individual lives, we begin to see them in a positive light as true challenges to overcome."
--Horacio A. Tenorio (Ensign, May 1990)
And another one:
"All crosses are easier to carry when we keep moving." Neal A. Maxwell.
(I love quotes. They help me keep life in perspective.)
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