So It Seems

What an amazing, miserable, glorious, crazy week! 

I'm alive - so it seems. For a while there, I wasn't sure I was going to make it out in one piece.

Sunday found us at Camp Calumet, enjoying a spiritual day sharing meals with friends, at worship, in the middle of a calm lake on a kayak, and spending lots of quality time with my family, as well as old friends and new. It was the last full day of a wonderful weekend. 

Monday found us packing our van, saying teary goodbyes, leaving the people and place we love so much ... and battling hunger and traffic on the way home. We splurged on a dinner out, complete with a magnificent homeschooled waitperson, for whom we left a rather generous tip. After stopping at home to drop off the van, husband, and three kids, my two Confirmation students and I hopped in my husband's car and hightailed it to church for class. Haley, having complained about upper abdominal pain throughout the day, said it has worsened by bedtime. Opting for sleep, she had a peaceful night.

Until waking in severe pain at 5:45AM on Tuesday, that is. By 6:05 we were off to the emergency room. After fair warning and two doctors attempting to get blood out of my child with reluctant veins, an IV specialist was finally called and went through a fifteen minute procedure including a hot towel, chux pad, and the use of gravity to get blood and start an IV. It was when I finally got to relax a bit that I noticed the halo of pain. Several hours and a few errands later, Haley was home resting and I had a house full of kids and a full-on migraine. I muddled through the day, and through Tuesday Night Sunday School, and church choir, and collapsed into bed in extreme pain. (Haley was sent home to rest and felt better over the next couple days.)

I just couldn't wake up on Wednesday. I'm not sure if I kept passing out from the pain or I was just exhausted, but my wonderful husband stayed home to take care of me and the kids and I slept on and off all day. Rarely have I experienced a migraine of that magnitude. At one point I thought I might have to go to the ER. 

Thursday became migraine day three. I made it through somehow, managing to entertain and feed children, get some rest during naptime, and not lose my mind until bedtime. 

Friday I started feeling human again. It was homeschool co-op day, and try as I might, I couldn't get caught up with all I hadn't accomplished on the computer all week. I did manage to teach a horde of 3-6 year old explorers a thing or two and helped them discover their inner artist. Friday evening brought with it an opportunity to see a movie with a good friend whom I've seen much too little of lately, and we had a great time, even though the movie wasn't at all what we'd expected. 

Saturday I finally felt well. Tired, but well. Husband having to work due to taking Wednesday off, the kids and I decided to catch a movie at the movie theater thanks to gift cards from cousin Ken. We had a hilarious time. Most of the way through our stop at the thrift store after the movie, I started feeling incredibly ill. We limped through checkout and rushed home, where I collapsed into bed and couldn't rouse myself for a few hours. 

Then it was time to go to the Best Haunted House Ever (at Epoch Arts in East Hampton, CT), where the two youngest children and the younger teen and I were the only ones brave enough to make our way through the maze of twists and turns of the freakish display. It got a two thumbs up form our youngest, who has been loving these haunted theatrics since she was two and a half years old. 

Full circle to today. A day of conversation, worship, fellowship, planning, and dreaming. I'm exhausted, but thankful. Now to see what this week has in store.