Case Report MO8 178700

Date: Septemeber 22, 2008

Time: 9:15 AM

Address: My home, my sanctuary, the place where I am supposed to feel safe...

Incident Type: Burglary

As of 6:15 PM, I was on my way home this evening, and I phoned to tell my husband that I was finally leaving school and coming home...We have Open House at school this week, and I have been spending many hours after school lately getting bulletin boards done, getting my room clean, and trying to make sure that I am ready for the parents. Well, this is what my husband says to me when I call, "Do you know already?"

"About what?" I reply. I have no idea what he is talking about.
"Someone broke into our house this morning. Just come home, " he replies.

I feel sick inside, and almost drive right off of the road. I hurry on home though. Before I get there, I call my parents. My mother, still shaken even though this is 8 hours later, tells me that my child, my sweet precious baby girl was home at the time, and she saw the intruder and called the police. I literally almost threw up right then. I told her I would have to call her back, and I drove like a maniac to get to my child....I just wanted to rest my eyes on her, to hold her, to shield her from this horrible world...She is ok. She doesn't feel like talking about it with me yet, but she did let me hold her for awhile.

The story: This criminal kicked in my front door at 9:15 this morning...fifteen minutes after my husband drove out of our driveway to go to a doctor's appointment. Broad day light. On a busy street. My husband had a thought to set the alarm system, then for some reason decided not to since he was not going to be gone long. This criminal entered our house at the same time the daughter dialed 911 on her cell phone and tiptoed down the stairs from her room to see what made such a horrible noise. You have to understand that she has not strated back to college yet, and she sleeps late most days. She is a ridiculously heavy sleeper. I have said many times that a tornado could sweep the house away, and she would sleep through it all. She did not sleep through this today. She came practically face to face to this man who had made it all the way into my dining room. She screamed when she saw him, and he ran. Thanks and praise to you, God, my Father...I can not say how much has gone through my head about what this man, this criminal, could have done to my baby instead of running. I will have this sick feeling in my stomach from now on about that. The daughter called my parents, and she spoke to my mother. My mom told me that she had no idea who was even calling, the daughter was screaming and crying so much....my mother will remember that call forever. My father beat the police over here trying to see about his first granddaughter. My sweet parents. They come to our rescue so often; I just can not express how much they mean to me.

The reality: They will most likely not catch this man. He was probably on foot. He was brave enough to kick in a dead bolted front door in broad day light on the front of my home while cars drove by and neighbors walked their dogs and people jogged down the street. This street is not secluded or seedy; it is a very nice neighborhood. People are always around, out on the streets, and living their lives happy and unaware of what is lurking. We are not safe anywhere.

The Blessings: My child is alive and safe. My home will survive. The door can be replaced eventually. Nothing was taken. But most importantly, my child lives to see another day.

Please go fnd the ones you love; give them a kiss and a hug...let them know you love them. Then, be certain that you have an alarm system. Finally, pray with all of your might that the darkness will not reach you. I hope you have a wonderful week!

This Time Last Year

"Thanks for this weekend," he said.

The husband. He was off this entire weekend...an unusual occurance lately since he's been working 6 days a week of 12 hour shifts! We have spent this weekend chatting, snuggling, watching movies, running errands, snuggling some more, and enjoying meals together. Not a particularly exciting weekend for some people, but a time of togetherness for us none the less. He wanted to surprise me by being off 3 days in a row, since my birthday was last Tuesday and I was sick. Sometimes, he can be so sweet. I so completely love this man. I have blogged about my love for him before here...

We realized at some point this weekend what we were doing this time last year.

Before I tell you about that, I will explain the above photo. This was taken of my father, me, and the husband at the Pananma Canal some time during the week of August 4-11, 2007. We went on a week long cruise to Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama with 20 other family members! We had such a wonderful time...exploring places we had never seen before, enjoying our family, laughing and playing on board the ship... The most surprising thing about the whole trip really is just how rare it was... a-once-in-a-lifetime trip...so rare that I would be able to take off work for the very first week of school (something I will NEVER do again) and for the husband to take an entire week off from the hospital! Remarkably rare! We were just so fortunate to be together on such a fabulous trip!

Nine months before this trip (in December) the husband had brain surgery to remove a softball size benign meningioma. This surgery was shocking, and at best one of the toughest things we'd ever been through! To hear that your husband has a softball size brain tumor and that his brain has shifted causing personality changes- I can not say how scary that all was! He came through the surgery just fine, had a remarkable recovery, and we were just so thankful to God that it was all over. This was actually one of the deciding factors for us when we finally made the decision to go on the cruise. Taking that much time off from work was not an easy task for either of us, but we realized how short life can be, and it is not all about work all the time!

Little did we know that after the cruise and less than a month later, we would both be off from work again, but this time for totally different reasons. In September of 2007, the husband had a follow-up appointment to see how his brain was doing. (He can not have an MRI, since he has a defibrillator for a rare heart condition that was discovered in 2006.) So, when he went in for his CT scan, they discovered that he had another golf ball size tumor in exactly the same place...the nightmare was reoccurring! Still benign...still needed to be removed. We were told the first time that this kind of tumor is very slow growing, but how it grew back this fast was a mystery to all of us.

So, this time last year, I was watching the husband go through literal hell once again. The second time was so much more difficult for him- more pain, more swelling, more bruising, more weakness...just all around more difficult. He stayed one entire day and night in ICU just after the surgery, and then they sent him home. (I know. That's what I thought too. WAY too soon!) I am not a nurse. How was I going to be able to take care of him? I really needed to get back to work. So far, in six weeks of school, I had missed two and a half of them! I did the best I could...scheduling people that I love to come and check on him, make him lunch, and keep him busy during the day...and make him rest from time to time until I could get home from work. He also experienced some depression during this time, and that was a very tough thing to see. This man, one of the strongest men I know, was weak, sickly, slow, and so very fragile. He was missing so much work, after missing so much work so recently for other surgeries and the cruise...he actually lost half of his pay for awhile since he had not had time to build his sick leave back up...and we began having serious financial difficulties from which we have yet to completely recover.

One year later...we realize how blessed we are...God took care of us...everyone prayed for us, and the entire situation left us completely aware how much the hand of God is on our lives. Though I often do not deserve it, He takes care of me and loves me in spite of my many faults. As I look back at that time, I know that prayers of many sustained us. I did not fall apart. I was not sick with worry. I felt an unusual peace...the kind of peace that can only come from God. He has carried us through some of the most difficult things, and for this I will be eternally thankful.

One year later, the husband is strong and healthy once again. His scar has healed. His memory has returned. His personality is back to normal (if it ever really was normal to begin with!) He is kinder and more tender to me. He is the man I love...the one that shares my home, my bed, my heart. I thank God for him. I know things could have turned out differently, and when I look at him now, I realize how truly blessed I am...

Such a difference one year can make.

Right now, I am going to go climb back into bed to snuggle the man that I love once again...and continue the togetherness of our weekend. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend too! Until next time, I wish you much laughter, love, happiness and many, many blessings.

Today

Today.

I can not think of words to say to express my feelings on this day. Someone I visit from time to time said so eloquently what my heart feels...please go there and take a moment to read Golightly's beautiful post and to remember. Then, follow the link and read the poem. You will be saddened, shaken, moved...

I could tell you a long and ridiculous story of what I was doing that day...but I will keep it short.
Let's just say I worked for an insensitive administrator who thought it was best not to tell any of us about the terrorist attacks. Yes, any of us, including adults- teachers and students...she told no one. I did not know until I was on my way home that afternoon at 4:30. I pulled my car over on the side of the road to listen to a sketchy news report, and instantly knew something was not right. I called my mom on my cell phone to ask what was going on. She was upset because she called the school to talk to me and was assured that we were being told. Nope. Not me.

Today is almost over here. It is just past 11 pm...I am working on more school work and wishing I could go to sleep. My thoughts and prayers today have been with those that can never really forget. Our world has changed...our lives are all vastly different than they would have been had this unspeakable tragedy not happened. But, I do not remember everyday. I live my hectic life. I worry about ridiculous things. I stay busy. I do not grieve every single moment. I did not lose what many lost that day. So, I am pausing once more just before midnight to pray once more for those that still hurt.

I hope that your day has been blessed with freedom, safety, and love.

Hugging

Hugging something other than a tree.
Came home from work today...sick.
Apparently, there is a stomach virus going around our middle school.
I was not aware of this...until today.
Lovely.

Image credit.

I am in need of a new camera, all my own.
Mine is currently on vacation in the daughter's purse.
She happens to be in Daytona Beach, Florida with my parents and my favorite cousin.
My camera has been on hiatus with the daughter for some time now.
This is why I have not posted any photos lately.
In my sleepy sick dreams, I dreamt that the husband bought this for me.
Tomorrow is my birthday.
I am staying home from work...sick.
What a nice gift that would make.
Not likely though.
One can dream, right?