The First Day

Today was a big day... Today Kevin decided that he was ready to go back to work full-time - in the office, in Topeka. I had tried to tell him that I wanted another week of him to be at home, his co-workers and colleagues tried to tell him that he should take as much time as he needed, his doctors however told him that he could resume his lifestyle when he was ready. 

Today he was ready. 

Honestly, I think he was ready a week or two ago, he has been working remotely the last few weeks, but they wanted his immune system to have a little bit longer before he went back into the world of germs. He also said that daytime TV was boring, but let's be honest, Kevin didn't really watch daytime TV. 

I joked the last few weeks that he talked a LOT more, there would be days he would come into the room I was working in to talk to me 5 or 6 times. Previously Kevin and I would only talk once or twice throughout the day when we were both working from home. We had both grown very independent, doing our own thing, taking care of our own business and converging at the end of the day to eat dinner together and work on bedtime with the kids. A lot has changed. A lot for the good. 

So this morning Kevin told me he was leaving at 7AM and I felt like I was sending a child to school for the very time, he was told to text me when he got to work. I called him a few times, just to see how he was doing, of course he sounded like the same old Kevin. I sent a Facebook message to another one of his co workers who works in his unit, asking her to check in on him, she made sure that someone did and I had a few reports throughout the day (unbeknownst to Kevin). 

Last week, I asked Kevin to stay at home and work from home for another week (or two?), he asked me why. He asked me what about the situation was I not comfortable with. He asked me if there was something I had a concern or fear about, if he was not okay and I had not told him. I paused, because that was the problem, everything is okay, everything has returned to normal, everything about life has started to resume. While I want to be thrilled with that, I am still so taken aback that just 4.5 weeks ago he had brain surgery. Just one month ago a surgeon opened up his skull and removed something THE SIZE OF A LARGE PEACH, and just like that, just 30 days later, his life has returned to normal. There is absolutely no doubt that he is a walking miracle today. 

Kevin made it to Topeka just fine, he worked all day, and he came home. He brought the kids home after I got done with my class, and he helped me with bedtime (which is a chore in and of itself). 

At the end of May, I told the kids that this was going to be 'the best summer ever', I had plans for us to swim in our little backyard pool, jump on the trampoline, go fishing, explore the outside and help me garden. Looking back, I would not title this the "best summer ever", but it has absolutely been the most unique summer ever. It has been a summer of blessings in disguise, blessings not in disguise and miracles on Elm Slough. We have spent more quality time this summer as a family of four than we have the entire time we have had children. Kevin has been more involved, active and engaged with Kennedy and Avery.  Kevin and I have had more conversations about our life together, our children and our family than we have in a long time. 

My blog posts will end soon, this chapter of life will be over (thank God I think we are on Jumanji, Level 7) soon, we have a few more hurdles to jump (I'll make a separate post about that), this has most certainly been the summer to remember. I have written more this summer then I have in more than ten years, taking an 8-week grad school course and writing this blog. This will soon be a memory, a blip on my time hop and a small reminder on my Facebook memories. A reminder that we are never guaranteed tomorrow, that life is short and fragile and a reminder of the amazing power of God and his love and forgiveness for all of us.