It's been a tough winter

It's been a tough winter.  I guess we were beginning to think we were exempt from hard times.  

You already know that I had a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted last November.  That was so traumatic for me because I had no inkling that one was in my future.  No lead up to it.  Just one day my doctor dropped the bomb and there it was and in the end, I agreed to let him do it.  I'm happy to say that I'm feeling a lot better and I'm glad its done.


While I was having surgery my hubbie came down with a bad cold.  He couldn't visit me in the hospital and I spent much of my recovery time either taking care of him or the two of us laying side by side just feeling bad, feeling down.


The good news is that I got better anyway.  The bad news is that my hubbie came down with Bells Palsy.  If you had seen him that first day, you would have called an ambulance.  The whole left side of his face just dropped.  The good news for this is that it's not permanent and just the only part left for him is that he can't smile - well, he can but it's a funny one-sided smile.  He felt weak for a while, but now he's back in his garden planting tomatoes.

After Christmas our oldest daughter visited with us and her very pregnant daughter.  You should see those two together.  So much love and trust.  


So things went pretty well until Valentine's Day when another bomb dropped.  After two careful ultrasounds, the doctor told our granddaughter that her baby had died.  It was so terribly sad.


Her mother came back to see her through it.  This daughter is trained as a dula (did I spell it correctly).  A dula is a mother's friend through the birth process, an advocate, a comforter, a good woman to have for your first delivery.  Our granddaughter delivered two-days after receiving the news so she was spared a long wait.  The delivery was fairly easy.  


The baby boy was 6 1/2 pounds - he should have lived, but he didn't.  There was no hope for it, only acceptance.  For a while, I think I felt worse than the mother did.  Maybe that's in part because of the hormonal things that happen with birth.

Our family had planned to come together after the birth for a baby inspection and to celebrate.  Instead we came together and healed together.  We had a good visit with our daughters cooking the meals and trying to outdo each other.  


I am so happy that we have a place large enough that we could offer them all a comfortable bed.  Our house often seems large for two old people, but when we fill it with the kids it just rings.


So, I'll try to get busy and post a little more.  Thanks to Lin of Duck and Wheel with String for giving me a little push.


See you later at this same spot.