Handle With Care
First things first...Thank you so much to the anonymous person who left two boxes of masks on my front step Friday night. I don't know who to thank but I hope if you are reading this, you know how grateful I am for your sacrifice and thoughtfulness. I did find some leftover masks we had from Shelbie's Chemo days but these will be used this week as we come and go from hospitals in Utah.
I've had a change of heart of the past few days. With all the hypervigilance on COVID19, we have forgotten that life goes on. People still get sick with a myriad of other viral and bacterial infections. The power goes out, the car breaks down, a basement floods, a gallon of milk only lasts so long, and a million other mishaps of mortal life. Happiness is still there, in the backseat being driven by Fear and Panic. Joy is in the rear view mirror and much closer than you could imagine.
We have forgotten to handle all the other things in life because the media and frenzied friends can't stop citing mythical facts, drawing wrong conclusions and hyper focused attention to the very basic fact of life- we live in a world with viruses and bacterias and cancer and all the things that can steal away the breath of life. We can shut down our little corner of the world or the entire world for that matter but what have we gained? A broken economy; not just a broken world economy but our individual family economies have taken a hit.
By the time Friday came along, I couldn't deal with this anymore and knew I had a much greater responsibility as a caregiver and head of my home to handle this situation with care and not by making sure we had excessive amounts of hand sanitizer and toilet paper.
I set the tone for my home. I set the example of peace or panic. I can represent obedience or neglect to the sensibilities of our physical and spiritual life. I'm the one my children look to for balance and hope. The truth is, never in the history of new and novel viruses the world has faced, have they ever gone away. Think about that for a moment. We must learn to live with this brand new shiny COVID19. There was a day we learned to live with the first 18 versions of the same bug and with far less drama! We managed to survive H1N1 which had far greater repercussions and now, it's hardly something we think about!
The funny thing is, the world is just now getting a taste of what it has been like for us over 27 years, to raise three children with failing bone marrow, broken immune systems and more health issues than you can shake a stick at. Everyday, I have had to make a choice and set an example of how to live life, really live a meaningful life in the best way we know how in spite of Dyskeratosis Congenita, bone marrow failure, CVID, TREX1, and hearts that struggle to keep up to the rhythms we demand of it. We have had to say no to some invitations for fun and we have chosen in some cases, to say yes and take that risk because life was calling! We have been criticized for the basic, sensible precautions we have taken. We have lost friends, been the center of criticism, I have been judged over and over and accused of being too careful!! Never once did I act irrational or panicked but yet the world feels one once of worry and goes completely nuts! I have graciously and patiently bit my tongue when the ignorance of people would come into my home and after hanging around for an hour, disclose that they were throwing up that very morning but "It was probably just food poisoning." or "I think my sore throat is just allergies."
Never in my 27 years of parenting did I stick my kids in a bubble of fear when it would have been so easy, so understandable to do so. I have watched my kids engage in things that for most kids are fine but for them posed serious risk but I let them. I prayed like crazy and kept my fears to myself because life goes on I'll be darned if I will let a disease or a virus or a bacteria define who they can become and accomplish in this life that was meant for us all to thrive and experience the good with the bad because that is what makes life rich!
In a nutshell, welcome to the world COVID19. You don't scare me. I don't want to hang out with you, or get to know you but if by chance we become acquainted, I will do what I can to be a gracious host and get you on your way as quick as possible and leave the rest of you in the hands of a God I believe will preserve us until the day when we have accomplished the work we have here to do.
With that, we will continue to handle the sanctity of this one precious life with care and courage and hope and faith and with the same trust in our Father in Heaven we have had for the past 27 years of uncertainty we have so intimately become acquainted with. We will continue to spread love and kindness and compassion and empathy, like a new and novel virus. We will handle it all with care.
I've had a change of heart of the past few days. With all the hypervigilance on COVID19, we have forgotten that life goes on. People still get sick with a myriad of other viral and bacterial infections. The power goes out, the car breaks down, a basement floods, a gallon of milk only lasts so long, and a million other mishaps of mortal life. Happiness is still there, in the backseat being driven by Fear and Panic. Joy is in the rear view mirror and much closer than you could imagine.
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| Last weekend, my kids ( along with two girlfriends )took a road trip together to Las Vegas. I love that they are the best of friends and had a HAPPY time! |
We have forgotten to handle all the other things in life because the media and frenzied friends can't stop citing mythical facts, drawing wrong conclusions and hyper focused attention to the very basic fact of life- we live in a world with viruses and bacterias and cancer and all the things that can steal away the breath of life. We can shut down our little corner of the world or the entire world for that matter but what have we gained? A broken economy; not just a broken world economy but our individual family economies have taken a hit.
By the time Friday came along, I couldn't deal with this anymore and knew I had a much greater responsibility as a caregiver and head of my home to handle this situation with care and not by making sure we had excessive amounts of hand sanitizer and toilet paper.
I set the tone for my home. I set the example of peace or panic. I can represent obedience or neglect to the sensibilities of our physical and spiritual life. I'm the one my children look to for balance and hope. The truth is, never in the history of new and novel viruses the world has faced, have they ever gone away. Think about that for a moment. We must learn to live with this brand new shiny COVID19. There was a day we learned to live with the first 18 versions of the same bug and with far less drama! We managed to survive H1N1 which had far greater repercussions and now, it's hardly something we think about!
The funny thing is, the world is just now getting a taste of what it has been like for us over 27 years, to raise three children with failing bone marrow, broken immune systems and more health issues than you can shake a stick at. Everyday, I have had to make a choice and set an example of how to live life, really live a meaningful life in the best way we know how in spite of Dyskeratosis Congenita, bone marrow failure, CVID, TREX1, and hearts that struggle to keep up to the rhythms we demand of it. We have had to say no to some invitations for fun and we have chosen in some cases, to say yes and take that risk because life was calling! We have been criticized for the basic, sensible precautions we have taken. We have lost friends, been the center of criticism, I have been judged over and over and accused of being too careful!! Never once did I act irrational or panicked but yet the world feels one once of worry and goes completely nuts! I have graciously and patiently bit my tongue when the ignorance of people would come into my home and after hanging around for an hour, disclose that they were throwing up that very morning but "It was probably just food poisoning." or "I think my sore throat is just allergies."
Never in my 27 years of parenting did I stick my kids in a bubble of fear when it would have been so easy, so understandable to do so. I have watched my kids engage in things that for most kids are fine but for them posed serious risk but I let them. I prayed like crazy and kept my fears to myself because life goes on I'll be darned if I will let a disease or a virus or a bacteria define who they can become and accomplish in this life that was meant for us all to thrive and experience the good with the bad because that is what makes life rich!
In a nutshell, welcome to the world COVID19. You don't scare me. I don't want to hang out with you, or get to know you but if by chance we become acquainted, I will do what I can to be a gracious host and get you on your way as quick as possible and leave the rest of you in the hands of a God I believe will preserve us until the day when we have accomplished the work we have here to do.
With that, we will continue to handle the sanctity of this one precious life with care and courage and hope and faith and with the same trust in our Father in Heaven we have had for the past 27 years of uncertainty we have so intimately become acquainted with. We will continue to spread love and kindness and compassion and empathy, like a new and novel virus. We will handle it all with care.
This is what I needed to hear. Thank you for posting this. ❤
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