I'm not a fan of this writing once a couple of weeks. Since I've headed back to work for professional development at the beginning of August and remodeling our rental property has consumed any free time I had, writing about my journey has taken a backseat. I truly dislike that the one thing I love doing so much has gone to the wayside. Thankfully, our new tenants have moved into a newly remodeled house and I can have my weekends back, along with time to write.
I feel horrible for talking about getting MY weekends back when my gracious parents (Strato & Reg) have devoted their entire summer to helping Paul and I around our rental. The weekend after I had Grace (May 26th) we were over there working on the yard until our old tenants moved out. Since that day, we have been over there working in some capacity every weekend. Whether it was scraping off layers upon layers of wallpaper, gutting the entire bathroom down to the studs, patching, painting, refinishing the floors, hanging blinds, cleaning, yard work etc. they were there helping us, every step of the way. Paul even coined my mom the "General Contractor" because she often seemed like she wanted to take over and would send us lists of items that needed to be taken care of around the house, just in case we (well, mostly Paul) forgot. In all honesty, she knows my husband to a T. It's kinda scary. Things just don't always go as planned with Paul. Something comes up that he least expects and problems occur (not by his doing) but it results in a time crunch in the end of any project. My dad and mom left roughly twenty minutes before the U-Haul pulled up and our tenants moved in. Talk about down to the wire.
My parents were there. They are always there...no matter what. I am beyond blessed to have such selfless parents. And I say that with tears running down my face. I cannot even begin to express how much their presence in my life truly means. I know this may sound silly, but my parents are my best friends. Paul and I thoroughly enjoy spending our time with them. In fact, it is a rare occasion if we don't see them at least once throughout the weekend. This past weekend...we saw them EVERY day. I love spending time with them for countless reasons. They are real and honest with us. They challenge our marriage and make us both want to become better people. And... they are the best people in the world to travel with! I pray that one day I can be as loving and selfless to my children as they are to us.
I will never forget when my graduating class in college was being honored for high academic achievement. Both my parents and soon to be husband were present in the audience that evening cheering me on. I remember when it was my turn to receive my rope, I looked to where the three of them had been sitting and my dad was gone. My heart sank and I instantly became saddened. I thought to myself, oh no, he's in the bathroom and won't see walk across the stage to receive my rope. When I made my way to the front, there my dad was...front and center, with his camera in hand, ready to snap a picture. Having that panic attack on stage made me realize how much it means to have them apart of my successes, failures, and trails in life. I'm so thankful that they are willing to sacrifice their time to be visible and apart of whatever life brings my way.
Reflecting back on the course of this past year, I couldn't be more appreciative of the love and support that was given to Paul and I by my parents. It still makes me smile to this day how often my dad would touch my stomach to feel Grace move. Of course she was a little stinker and never moved when he was trying to feel her. I will never forgot the night of May 17th when my water broke and I called my mom in shock. I remember thinking to myself, this isn't supposed to happen. I was told "these babies" typically don't induce labor on their own. My mom even responded to me, "Are you sure? Maybe you should just wait a little while." As I stood with fluid running down my leg, I knew this was the real deal. At 11:50am (10 minutes after we arrived in the hospital) they entered my delivery room with a coffee in hand. They both looked extremely exhausted, but were ready to be there as I experienced the most difficult day of my life. As Paul fell asleep on the couch (ha ha) my mom and dad sat by my side and held my hand as I endured my contractions one by one. My mom was even there while I pushed and pushed for three hours and became very edgy with her garlic breath and repetitive saying of, "Bare down." All I did was complain about how hungry I was and the desire to drink orange soda. Paul and my mom didn't say one word, but laughed, and just kept shoving ice chips in my mouth and putting cold compresses on my head.
I'm still in awe that they both took a week off (at the same time) to care for me after I delivered Grace. Some of the best days of my life were during that week and it was because we simply talked and spent time together. If you haven't gathered...my love language is quality time! Their presence always seems to fill my love tank and for that I am thankful.
I'm not so sure what life is going to be like when the Lord calls either of them home. I know that my world will be shattered...again. I'm not going to think about that now because I honestly get choked up and cry uncontrollably. Paul has already witnessed my emotional thinking and probably thinks I need to join the looney bin. Truth be told, he brought that topic up once and began crying himself. I pray all the time that our Lord will bless us with many opportunities to build memories and to continue to deepen our relationship with my parents. I am blessed beyond measure to have such wonderful, God fearing parents!
 |
| Gracie loves her grandparents, too! |
No comments:
Post a Comment