Chapter 12: Sick No More

I used to get annoyed at how many prayer requests focused on people’s health. I would silently grumble about there being more to life that a distant relative’s hospital visit. But, when you’re faced with your own wellness threat, you realize that there is no more to life when you’re consumed with sickness. Things don’t go on as normal – you miss family reunions and preschool parties, playdates and work. All your attention is focused on getting better.

So when our pediatrician announced Eloise’s diagnosis, it was frightening. Pneumonia?! A bad cough and a little fever led to this? Chris and I would take turns in a panic, before harnessing the other back to an objective calm. We were instructed to keep an eye on her breathing at night and rush to the ER if it worsened. I prayed myself to sleep believing it would be fine by the morning. But Chris set his alarm every two hours to make sure she was okay.

I have never loved him more. Passing through the hallway, he said, “I would gladly give my life in exchange for hers.” And at the moment I knew he would. Without hesitation.

For Thanksgiving a few days later, we made a sign of things we were thankful for. I asked Eloise what she wanted me to write and she said, “Going to the doctor and getting better.” Indeed. It was a huge prayer request answered.

Chapter 11: Home Is

If you want to know who people want to be, look at their Facebook. If you want to know how people really are, stay in their home. It’s amazing how much of our identities are revealed in the habits we have and the houses we keep.

When both of my sisters moved to new towns last year, I knew that summer would be my best chance to visit. And with Chris unable to get off work, I asked my sister-in-law Brittany to roadtrip it with me. She graciously agreed.

We started at Nana and Papa’s house in Bucyrus, with their melting pot style – a mixture of treasures from foreign lands and a Midwest country charm. Then, we went to Uncle Eric and Aunt Amy’s house in Pratt, with their creative/tech style of art meets kids for a chaotic cozy feel. We ended at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Laurie’s house in Elk City – a suburban style of modern Middle America with room to grow. Each home was as unique as the lives that filled it.

Traveling back to Austin, I felt a sense of closure – like I had finally made the connection to my sisters’ daily lives. It reminded me of a song called “If These Walls Could Speak” and it made me wonder what the walls of my home would say about me.

Chapter 10: [ho-tay-ul]

When Cindy first proposed the idea of booking a night at the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, I was interested. Eloise, though, was ecstatic. Not because she had any experience with hotels, but because GranMama had planted daydreams of the experience in her head. Eloise talked endlessly of going to the “ho-tay-ul” – of swimming and horseback riding, of s’mores and slides.

Now in most instances, expectations surpass the reality. The anticipation is sweeter than the muddled moments. This was The Exception. We spent 30 hours squeezing in every activity and experience we could. The memory remains so bright in my mind that I know we could never recreate it. But we try…

For at least three months after our getaway, Eloise and I would weave bedtime stories around the hotel. She would include her cousins (the “grandbabies”) and Nana and Papa in her adventures. And each night we would cut out at the climax with the battle cry, “To be continued!!”

Chapter 9: Freeze Makes a Crowd

I hate cold weather. No amount of “layering” can make-up for the numbing chill that’s impossible to shake. So as I snuggled under the covers one icy night last January, I silently thanked God for a house with a strong heater. Eight hours later, I was not-so-silently cursing this same heater. It was dead. I was done. Chris spent the whole day tinkering on it. I thawed out at school, and Cindy took the kids to her house.

Since our refrigerated house was no place to stay, we decided to pile in with Cindy. I use “pile” in the most conservative way because we were literally on top of each other. Three adults, two kids, and two small horses dogs in 860 sq. feet of furniture. Suddenly the cold weather didn’t seem so bad.

People say that God must have a sense of humor, and after that week, I agree. We ended up staying with Cindy for three days until a friend fixed our heater. School was cancelled because of the weather, and Duke got his first taste of snow.
Was it cold and uncomfortable? Yes. But I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.