Wednesday, August 6, 2008

1st Days, Adjustments, and Grieving with Hope

So today was the day... the first day of school. There were definitely thoughts of Catie and what she would have thought of kindergarten, how her day would have been, who her classmates would have been. I'm happy to say we survived the day. My meltdowns always seem to come ahead of whatever I'm dreading, and I managed to take care of it yesterday instead of this morning. Definitely a good things considering I had to do school stuff at school today!! I confess to tearing up a bit as I watched little ones reuniting w/ their mommas at the end of the day... All in all though, I think we managed well. Boy we still miss her like mad though!!

Anticipating what would have been her 1st day at school has had her on the brain even more than usual. Catie stories have filled my head. I rarely call Izzy Catie these days, but it has happened at least 3 times in the last week. She has been very present in my mind for sure.

Izzy has done a great job transitioning into going to the sitter's house! She is such a social bug and loves, loves, loves playing with the other kids who are there. She is cheerful when I drop her off and cheerful when I pick her up. We are so grateful for Mrs. Amber and for the fact that Izzy is so comfortable there. She is a tired puppy at the end of the day, but I have no doubt that's because of our early morning wake up call! It's ENTIRELY too early for this momma!! We're adjusting though... which includes trying to tame the night owl in me. :)

I'm sure many of you have heard about the tragic loss that Steven Curtis Chapman's family experienced in May. This morning, Good Morning America aired an interview with their family that is very moving. Click here to view the interview. I could identify with so much of what they said. At one point they talk about being a family of faith, but also being a family with a lot of questions. And then SCC says something to the effect of, "But that's what faith is.... it's having faith through the questions." Powerful stuff.

One last note... Please pray for our friend Tyler Copley and his family. He has battled far more and far harder than anyone should have to. His time is short. He and his mom were always good about coming by to visit us when we were inpatient... Our thoughts and prayers are with them now. We pray his journey is easy, his suffering short, and we know his joy will soon be complete.