What I Did the Week After My Vacation

I was just thinking about those silly little essays that kids often have to write at the beginning of the school year: What I Did On My Summer Vacation. Since I wrote an almost daily essay chronicling my adventure in Croatia with my mom, you'd think that life after traveling would leave little else to say. But I must say that my first week back has been much more jam packed. 

You see, months before I ever consented to flying halfway across the world with my mom, I was an automatic sign-up for the Mandy and Keith wedding team. Mandy's mom, and my dear friend, Heather, has been behind the scenes on all my kid's weddings in one capacity or another - rehearsal dinners, kitchen queen (aka: the one in charge of all things food), maker of delicious wedding dainties, assistant food planner, and the "just give me the cash and I'll do all your food shopping" lady. More importantly, she has been a loyal friend and fellow Thursday morning prayer partner for the past 17 years or so. She has prayed diligently for all my kids and prayed me through all those weddings, and more.

To say that I owed her one sounds much too flippant and unfeeling. Friends don't keep track of what is owed. Friends are just there for one another, unconditionally. I love her. I love Mandy. Love is an action, so count me in! Yes, I will be the wedding coordinator, and, yes, I will come alongside Mandy and Heather in finishing the planning. The fact that the wedding was to be four days after I arrived home from a three week trip overseas did have me considering hyperventilating a few times, but despite my inner wimpiness, I find that I must keep going back to the "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" thing. I like that promise of Him making all my paths straight and I never cease to be amazed at how He does it each time. 

So, Tuesday night found me back home enjoying my family...including my one and only grand daughter, who is twenty times cuter in person than on Skype. Holy moly! It was so good to see everyone and so great to be home.

Wednesday consisted of unpacking, hanging out with Jill and Cadence, doing laundry, making lists, and phone calls to Heather, Mandy, and others, to start to get my ducks in a row for the fast arriving nuptials.

Thursday had Jillian waking up feeling ill - because she's pregnant!! - me driving down the way to prayer with Heather and our friend Diana, then running back home to get Jillian something, then back to prayer...where more things were hammered out and lifted up, taking care of baby so Jillian could rest, a last minute meeting with Mandy and Keith to go over the wedding and reception itinerary and to tidy up some last minute details, come home, make dinner, take care of baby and Jill, and go to bed.

Friday I'm tired, but up with baby. Jillian had felt sick in the night and I'd been up with her off and on. Baby's nap time meant typing up the itinerary for the wedding and reception and preparing to run the wedding rehearsal which was to be an hour away in a little stone church in the quaint little Palouse town of Pine City. Jillian finally started feeling a little better, so as she was to be a bridesmaid, we headed out through the rolling fields of wheat and made it through the rehearsal, which went quite well. We then joined everyone for a rehearsal dessert in downtown Spokane. Jilly didn't feel too great that evening and we spent another night of interrupted sleep.

Saturday morning already showed promise of the ninety degree day that it would be. I got up, took care of baby, and let Jillian sleep as long as possible. After picking up some other friends who were riding down to help with the festivities, I came by and got Jillian. We arrived in Pine City about 1:20pm. Jillian joined the girls to prepare for photos and I jumped in and helped finish the lovely outdoor "church picnic in the pines" reception set up. Thank goodness for many helping hands! It was hot, hot, hot! Finally came time to line up our bridal party and get the show on the road. The music began and we were off! How grateful we all were for that cool little stone church! The wedding was beautiful and I relished my front row seat where I could see Mandy's lovely smile through the whole ceremony. Soon we were all filing out for dinner and dessert in the field right next to the church. After a fun time of food and fellowship, we saw the bride and groom off through showers of birdseed and began our clean up. Jillian caught a ride home with friends and the rest of us - family and friends - got the wedding packed up. I was home by 9:30 feeling tired and sore, but quite blessed by the Lord's provision for the day and all who came to celebrate. 

Sunday morning Jillian still was not feeling well, so she and Jake decided to postpone her return flight for a week. We were all pretty exhausted, so we laid low till the afternoon, then I took Jill into the ER. They filled her with fluids, ran tests, found that she was fighting an infection - in addition to being morning sick - and sent us home with some prescriptions. Not knowing what was up, we had also decided earlier that day that I would accompany Jill and Cadence home that next week. Even with a week to recover it did not seem wise to send her flying with the baby alone. So I will be leaving with her on Oct 3rd and stay for two weeks...missing Monica and Danny's departure to Medford. That was cause for some shedding of tears all around, but we worked through it. As I recently posted on Facebook, "life truly is what happens when you have other plans."

Monday we had one appointment then Jill laid low. There were also errands to run and dinner to make and baby to watch. Jill's meds were making her feel weird, so we had another night of not so much sleep.

That brings us to Tuesday. Jill  was still not 100%, more errands to run, and an important date with lovely Nancy who is moving to California on Friday. Danny came to help take care of Cadence and Jill, and Monica and I set out on the errands and met Nancy for a much awaited last visit at the Maple Street Bistro. Good times! Swinging by Rosauers for a rotisserie chicken and a few other supplies, we made it home and got dinner together. Add a lovely surprise visit from cousin BJ, a bath for baby, getting Jill off to bed with a prayer for healing, doing up the dishes, making Ty's lunch for tomorrow, and I was pooped. I went to bed early and was awakened once again to Jill's text that she needed help. Finally got some nausea meds in her and we both got back to sleep around 2:30am.

Wednesday morning, I escaped with the help of Auntie Monica and Uncle Danny, and went downtown to get my hair done. It was a nice and needed break. Returning home, I helped Jillian get ready and we headed off the the ER again. There must be something they could do to help her a bit more with the nausea or we were not going to be able to leave for Florida next Monday! The Lord had all that covered! We saw the same admitting person as on Sunday, a pregnant woman who had suffered miserably from morning sickness too. She promptly wheeled Jillian into the ER and went herself to find the same ARNP that we'd had on Sunday. Such a blessing! We were there an awfully long time, but everyone was so good to us. Results of that visit? One less medication to take that would bother her stomach, an additional one for the nausea, AND she got to have an ultrasound and see little baby Bragg's heart beating...I did too! Jillian had a much better night last night so we both got more rest.

Now it's Thursday. I awoke early to get dressed before Miss Cadence arose. We had a fun breakfast together, then woke up "mom" for her meds and got her to come on out to the living room to "play" from the sofa. I was able to bop down to my friend Diana's for our Thursday prayer and fellowship time. Such a blessing! Dropped Jillian off for a massage, which she was thankfully feeling well enough for, went to an appointment with Ty, then home for a quick lunch. Because Jillian was feeling better, and because Danny was willing to stick around and hang with the girls again, Monica and I were able to have our promised coffee date (that we were supposed to have yesterday), probably our last one before I leave for Florida and she leaves for Medford. Golly, I love that girl...I mean, woman! What a joy to see what the Lord has done and is doing in her life. 

It has been a full day, and a very full week-plus-a-few-days, since I returned from my European adventure. If I had jet lag at all this week it was masked by all the activity and the continued lack of sleep. There are a few more days till I'm off again. I have no idea what to think of all this, so I'm just bending with it and feeling very thankful for God's covering, even while being close to tears at times. Haha! That has been my life for at least the past three years...probably more. Isn't that the story of all of us itinerate mom/wife/friends? Different circumstances, but always the need to trust, the need to cry and cry out, and the need to cultivate thankfulness through it all. So what did I do the week after my vacation? I tried to be obedient to whatever the Lord put in my path. And He has been faithful to hold me close. It has been a good week.