A "Leisurely" Stroll

Today has been a good bit harder for Josh than yesterday was. Yesterday was the first day that he didn't feel pretty rotten, so he tried to get up and go a lot more than he probably should have. And he's paying for it today. His pain is managed very well, but it's going to take a while to build his endurance back up. And he's feeling wiped out from going to his doctor's appointment, sitting outside for awhile watching the kids play, taking several trips up and down the stairs, and going for a stroll around the neighborhood.

If you need a good laugh, let me tell you what "going for a stroll" entails around here these days. First of all, it took every bit of 25 minutes to get everything situated to go out. And that doesn't even count the 30 minutes of mental prep it took to get ready. Once Josh had made it down the staircase from our bedroom to the living room, we had to figure out what to do with the kiddos while we got him down the front steps. Keep them inside and risk Josh getting tripped up with one of them? Or send them outside and risk one of them taking off towards the street? Neither sounded like a very good choice, so I opted to hold Isabel and give the other two jobs to do to help Daddy. That, combined with the fact that they were intrigued with watching him manuever his way outside, kept them close by.

Once we were out, it was time to get the "lightweight" wheelchair out of the van for Josh to sit in. And boy, am I glad they sent that one, because if 107 pounds is "lightweight", I can only imagine what the normal one would feel like! (That was a bit of an exaggeration, but my biceps would probably beg to differ.)

OK, so now Josh is strapped into the wheelchair, Izzy is in his lap, Abigail and Jack are holding hands, and we're ready to go. I start to push the "lightweight" chair that now contains 240 pounds worth of my family, and I made it all of 8 feet before a near-disaster. As the chair went from the driveway to the street, it tipped forward and came nauseatingly close to dumping all of its contents (smashed leg, baby, and all) into the road. But the crisis was averted (barely), and we continued on.

Another 8 feet, and Izzy decides she doesn't want to sit in Daddy's lap anymore, so now I'm wearing her in a baby carrier across my chest, and I'm still pushing what feels like a bazillion pounds ahead of me. To get our math in for the day, we added up how much weight I was then responsible for transporting (myself included)...care to guess?

399 pounds (NOT an exaggeration!)

When we first started out for our walk, I was thinking how chilly it was and how I wished I had grabbed a jacket on the way out. When we pulled back into the driveway, I was sweating bullets and was ready for a six-hour nap!

I make it sound like somewhat of an unpleasant afternoon, but it was actually a really sweet time for our family. The weather was gorgeous, the company was even better, and we talked about how blessed we are. We've got a lot to be thankful for!


Please pray for Josh's spirits tonight (as well as his physical health). Today's been a harder day for him. Thank you, and we love you!
allison