For the Love of Ivey

Today we have been married 12 years. After 7 years we start into the next year, officially tonight, with no night nursing. None. We will have a nurse come 2 days a week for the next few months until Ivey comes up for review again.  But as for the nights, for the first time in 7, let me say that again, 7 years, we are on our on. Oh my.  How do married couples act without a nightly chaperone??  And, we have our girl to ourselves.  Are we ready?

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is something that I am not.  Ever. But my girl, she is a different story. She has a drive that is unfathomable to me.  She endures more obstacles that one human might be able to endure, sometimes I think, even more than one should endure, but somehow she does it with grace and more often than not, joy. I don't understand her at all.  She is truly wonderfully made.  All the right pieces, in just the right amounts. Today, our girl completed first grade. It is quite amazing when you think about it.   She has moved mountains to be here.  And yet, she is content. I don't really understand it.  She has this drive that Matt and I both have, but in Ivey it is amplified to indescribable amounts.  She gracefully moves through the moments, working so hard, striving to be more than she was the day before, yet somehow, in each moment she is content. She is content in the moment.  And somehow, in her contentment, she pushes further.  She...

I read a lot about children with special needs.  A LOT.  I read what I can find on mommas with children with special needs.  I re-read the same articles on marriages (surviving) with a child with special needs.  And of course, I read about the siblings.  But now, officially seven years into this, I am merely re-reading the same words over and over.  It is all the skimming the surface.  All recapping "it's stressful".  The stress of the day directs me to which topic I will Google for the day.  As for books, they all skip the surface too or they are the stories that tell of the hardships of the child. I am tired of going to workshops on special needs.  It is always the same old same old.  I have read the books that are sad (or mad) from parents living with a SN child.  I'm past that. I want to read something real.  Cut the crap.   (This has been brewing for a while.  I want to talk to someone who wi...

A post from the Wise Family.  Click HERE to read ... a page... in a chapter ... of a never*ending*book ... 

Happy Birthday Ivey Lou Who!  

We made it home tonight. Home sweet home. Coming home from a hospital stay is, unfortunately, nothing like coming home from a vacation. A continum of highs and lows, stress and trama.  The days have been long, running into one another with no stop or start, just hours evolving into different dates. Thank you to all of you who kept her in your cares. Thank you for keeping my boys safe. Thank you for all of the meals. Thank you to those who were my respite letting me take breaks. Thank you to my friends for sharing your strength and singing my song. Thank you to the staff and 4th floor nurses, our awesome physicians, Kim, and anyone else who laid hands on my daughter.  X-ray, IR, vascular team, ER, family life, the cleaning staff.  You are all priceless. It is always the coming home that precedes the crash. The crash of the waves of humility in looking back and seeing all the true treasures, the people in our lives when we cannot stand alone. Thank you t...