Great joy!

Yesterday I had a pretty busy day. Not out of the ordinary, just busy. When I am recuperating at my grandmother's house after chemo its all about relaxing and resting...basically all about me. I have to make myself leave when I am feeling better because I could plant my permanent residence there! When I get home, there is no slow fazing-in of mommy; I am home, and things are steamrolling along like normal. My saving grace is that it is summer and Jake has decided to stay home this summer to help me instead of teaching summer school. He has been true to his word, helping in every way.

Last night, I had gotten home pretty late and Jake told me he was going to take a shower. That alone was pretty unusual for him, but I said okay and went to tuck in Katelyn. I heard the water running and running...and running. When I walked in the living room and Jake was reading the paper, I asked him if I could turn off the water until he was ready! Jake probably would not admit this, but he is pretty notorious for starting his shower in the morning and then remembering he has to do several things before getting in, all the while water is a running! So, this was not quite an unusual question for us. He said no, but led me into the bathroom where he had drawn a bubble bath for not himself, but me. It was so relaxing at the end of a long day, and just a reminder of the many blessings I have pouring out all around me!

I was reading my friend Amy’s blog about her cancer journey, amysayegh.blogspot.com, and I realized she was running around doing tons of stuff in between chemo rounds too. I think it makes me feel better to do normal mom things too. Yes, I get tired after accomplishing simple tasks I probably used to be able to do with one hand (while doing something else with the other hand!) But it still feels good to do them. Now, I am slower, but I was probably doing them too fast before anyway. Sometimes slowing down was like the long bath I had last night; it lets you remember the joy in what you do. And trust me, the normal mom things like brushing hair, reading books, coloring, listening to "ideas" and stories, all bring me great joy! (In case your kids don't do this, "ideas" are when you suggest something to do with your child, and she says with gleaming eyes "I have an even better idea!”)

Take care!