November Challenge - Days 5 - 10

Day 5:  A few minutes before leaving for work, I grew ill and couldn't leave the house for a few hours.  I'm thankful for a supportive secretary at work who took care of loose ends at work on account of my late start that day.  Wonderful coworkers and, better yet, co-friends are blessings!!

Day 6:  I'm thankful for the sunshine that so brilliantly highlights the beautiful fall foliage!

Day 7:  Today was hard as all the 7ths of the month are anymore.  I'm so thankful for our baby girl and love marking her growth on the monthiversary of her birthday but find that in the late night hours of the 7th, I get a burst of energy and my mind is in overdrive.  In the first several months after Charlotte was born, each Monday night I would be sucked into the memory of how the Monday Charlotte was born ended.  As the 7pm hour approached, I would recall the exam that was so physically painful that then led to the exploratory surgery that would change everything and crush a million hopes and dreams I had for our future family at 10pm.  This day marked 20 months since Charlotte's birthday.  I tried to focus on all the good and Charlotte's growth and milestone moments but as the darkness fell, so did my joy.  Feelings of despair and melancholy began to creep into my mind as I went into overdrive with grading and schoolwork.  At one point during the late night hours, I had a thought....in a way I was working so hard, burning the candle at both ends, as if I was trying to avoid the feelings of when I was forced to lie still waiting for the anesthesia to take me away and forget what was about to happen as the start of the hysterectomy surgery began.  I don't intentionally plan on it but it seems on the 7th of each month, I'm busier than ever getting things done and checking off my to-do lists, keep too busy to stop...keep moving so the memories can't catch up...but they're always there and most likely always will be.  I'm grateful for Charlotte Annie today in spite of the polar opposite feelings to the joy I feel when I think of her that also accompany those thoughts.  She's the good that comes with the bad and I'm so glad it isn't all just bad but that we have her in addition to all the pain that I wish I could work/pray/deny/forget away at times.

Day 8:  I'm appreciative of heat.  The days are getting colder and it's feeling a lot like winter with these frosty mornings we're experiencing.  I need to dig out our gloves, hats, and scarves this weekend but as I feel the warm air blowing out of the vents in our cozy little home, I'm thankful for warmth.

Day 9:  My new nephew, Daniel Mark, was born tonight!  I'm thankful my sister-in-law and nephew are healthy!  I can't wait to cuddle and love on that precious baby boy!

Day 10:  Today I'm thankful for our helpers!  From the middle of the day through bedtime, Charlotte was in terrific hands thanks to Students Serving Moms!  She had an early start to the day by going to her last Montessori Baby Class with Adam.  Then she came home and was able to play from 11:30 - 2:30pm with our first helper of the day, Caitlin.  Caitlin is from York and her mother works where I used to work!!  Fridays are my early days which allow me to finish by 2:15pm.  I was able to bring home Gianna and one of her friends who wanted to see what Students Serving Moms was all about which allowed me to get a head start on my to-do list for the weekend.  While the two girls kept Charlotte occupied the next three hours, I was able to pick up three weeks' worth of poop in the yard (as flurries fell...today was the first day I saw snow!), take out the trash and recyclables, unload and refill the dishwasher, sweep and mop the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom, dust the furniture, have the laundry folded and sorted, and vacuum!  Adam and I were even able to walk to the local pizzeria and pick up dinner while Gianna and Catherine played with Charlotte in the downstairs living room.  After dinner, it was time to take the girls back to campus and pick up Rachel, a helper who had requested to work with another family while she waits for her assigned family to need her services!  Thanks to Rachel's availability, Adam and I were able to steal away and go to a church downtown for a Latin mass.  That makes two Fridays in a row of having a mini date night with my hubby!  We came home to a coffee table covered with sorted clothes that Charlotte had outgrown ready for me to pack them up by size thanks to Rachel's help!  Yes, I'm so very thankful for the helpers who give of their time and energy to help us tired mamas and kiddos who love playing with new friends!