Good morning. Well it has been a long time since the last blog but after you read this you will understand. The visit to None's was a good one. She lives in a very wooded area of Washington and it was lovely. It was nice to have some down time to just relax and visit even though the circumstances were abominable. Steve decided to drive a truck he had sold to his dad five years ago and pull a trailer full of stuff home. He left last Thursday afternoon and spent the evening with his dear friend and our best man, Mark in Idaho. That evening after putting the kids to bed in the master bedroom, I heard someone shaking a bottle. When I went in the room, Zoe was sitting in a sea of Tylenol PM caplets. Some of the pills were wet and had obviously been in her mouth. Well I called Poison Control and was told to get her to an ER. This was 7:45 PM. So we got the kids up and off we headed to the hospital. On the way out of town, I asked Linda "How far is the hospital?" She replied that it was 45 minutes to an hour away. At that time, I really started freaking out because Zoe (who had not napped all day) was falling asleep in the car seat. I had Linda call 911 and we pulled over and waited. A fire truck pulled up and the man in charge looked at Zoe and said that she looked good but to continue to take her to the ER to get her "levels checked". So we continued on.
Once we arrived, Zoe and I went inside and Linda stayed with Alex in the car. Well 3.5 hours and a traumatizing blood draw from the arm later, Zoe's Tylenol levels were negative and she was released. I was so grateful. It seems that the "PM" component of the medicine can not be traced in the blood stream but the "Tylenol" component can. So parents be sure to check grandparent's medicine cabinets or drawers in this case when you visit. Lesson learned here!
Well, I spoke to Steve that night and did not hear from him on Friday. I told myself that it was due to the fact that he was "out of range" on his cellular phone. After Saturday morning had passed, I started to get worried. He finally called me Saturday afternoon. Are you ready for this? Well, Friday night Steve was driving through Wyoming and had to stop at a Super 8 due to blizzard conditions. He got up Saturday and headed for home. The weather was still very bad and his windshield wipers iced over. As he was cleaning the wipers in three degree blizzard conditions, our new puppy, Roxie locked the truck. Having no other recourse, Steve broke the window. So off he headed. That's not the end of this tale! Steve was then pulled over by a police officer who thought the truck was stolen due to the broken window. Luckily, Steve had all the proper paperwork.
Hold on there's more! Then at about 2:15 PM, just outside of Cheyenne and an hour and a half from home (of a 23 hour journey) Steve decided to move into the right lane. He hit some black ice and started sliding. He corrected the truck but the weight of the trailer sent the truck and trailer rolling. YES! STEVE ROLLED THE TRUCK! Steve survived with minor scratches and even had the wherewithall to grab Roxie in midroll so she is fine as well. The truck is totaled but the trailer survived thanks to Mike's incredible assembly and design. Steve finally called me from the tow truck driver's mobile phone. I was so happy to hear his voice but was pretty upset by the news of the accident. Steve got home thanks to our dear friends, Nadine and Tall Steve. They drove from Denver on a moment's notice to bring him and Roxie home.
Ok, so now it is Monday. Steve returns to work. His coworkers at McKesson pitched in and brought groceries to the house. Deb, a co-PM, with Steve did the shopping at Whole Foods and boy did she get some yummy food. When I got home I was completely overwhelmed by their generosity and kindness.
So the kids and I left Washington Wednesday morning at 5:30 AM. We drove for 2.5 hours into Portland Airport. Then flew into Phoenix. Had an hour lay over, ate lunch and boarded a plane home. Zoe had her own seat to Phoenix but had to sit in my lap home. She did not nap and was a tad cranky on the last leg home. It was so good to get home but I was completely disoriented for a while. I had to remember how to work the stove and drive the car!
So I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out what is going on with this series of unfortunate events. Is there a black cloud over this family? Are we jinxed?
Doomed to a hard life? Being punished? All I can come up with is that we need to get to church! The lesson I have learned is that gratitude needs to be a part of our daily lives. That we need to stop getting caught up in the day-to-day, small stuff and appreciate the many gifts in our lives such as our friends. As I wrote this blog I realized that we have such a wonderful group of friends. That we are blessed that we only lost a truck in this ordeal. That death is a part of life and what makes it o precious. My heart is full right now. Thank you for helping me get to this point.
Each one of you is dear to us. Thank you and God bless.
G
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3 comments:
Gwen,
I was shocked to read about the series of events but so thankful that nothing catastrophic happened. I think bad things do tend to happen in waves, and hopefully your wave is receding, leaving calm seas in its wake. I'm sending peaceful, uneventful thoughts your way!
you know what they say, dont sweat the small stuff - oh #$%&, in your case it all seems to be youthe big stuff totally overwhelms the small stuff - hang in there - the Big M (better known as nadine's mum) is on her way - gathering up chants and candles and most importantly, the prairie state's version of nouveau. We'll chase the demons back into the bottle (which of course we will need to empty) see you soon
Gwen,
I have been constantly checking the blog for updates. As if checking would will there to be new information because I wanted it to be so!
I wish Steven and you had had a much less insane time while away! I am so grateful that you are all intact, if not frayed around the edges. Sounds like Nadine's mom has the cure to what ails you!
I saw a thing the other day on Opra, yes I love Opra too (aw shucks!)about a thing called the "secret". It is a practice of drawing that to your life that you keep in your consciousness. In other words the things you focus on in life bring more of the same. Intention creates what comes to you. In your case you truly have difficult things that no one could ever ask for! However it wouldn't hurt to ask for the universe to lighten up on you. Heres the thing, you have to watch what and how you ask for "it". Sometimes just the thought of "life is hard and chaotic" (according to the "secret") can bring more of the same to you if you don't discipline yourself to thinking in the positive, like "I am finding daily ways to make our life more manageable and meaningful". It is a lot like positive affirmations with the component of letting go of the negative and seeing your self (in your mind) truly living the life that you want in your heart! At this point I think we could all go for more of that!!!!
I AM SO GLAD YOU ARE BACK.
Love,
Tina
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