As the saying goes ” time flies” and that certainly has been the case in this new year. If for no other reason, January with all its family birthdays, has always been a special month. In January our family honors son Jerry; grandchildren: Annie, Khushi, Brian, Charlie, son-in-law Brendan and my brother Pete. January was also the birthday of our beloved Uncle Jim Murphy and of my dear friend Moira. Though when I was a child I may have felt Pete got a raw deal in the present department when sometimes he got a Merry Christmas/Happy Birthday gift, I have come to love the specialness of January with all its meaningful birthdays.
This January was a bit different with the various “to do’s” for Jerry’s impending knee replacement surgery. Fifteen years ago when Jerry had his right knee joint replaced he was in the hospital for five days post op. Pre op was so straightforward. We saw the surgeon, a decision was made for surgery, and the operation took place. This time after the pre op visit with the surgeon, there were many mandated “to do’s” before the January 22nd surgery. Perhaps the best one of these was the class we watched on the computer that spelled out pretty clearly the surgical and medical road ahead of us. This class was supplemented by a patient guide which elaborated on the details covered in the mandated class.
And now we are in February and Jerry is two plus weeks post op and making amazing progress. Today has been monumental! No more rented hospital bed, no more night time aide, no more in home physical therapist.
Early February also gives us two more special birthdays - for Kieran and and for her mom, Lane.
Jerry’s post surgery time and the care and concern of our precious family has made me reflect on the importance of giving support to those in need. Jerry and I are blessed with caring children and grandchildren. Meg, Jim, Maura, Lilly, Atar – their in person help has been amazing. and the calls and texts of everyone else have been powerful energy boosters,
Find myself reflecting on 1984 - 1985, the last nine months of my mother’s life, when she lived with us . She came for a visit, got sick, and was never well enough to return home. She was unable to climb the stairs to our second floor so we turned our dining room into her bedroom. And we blocked off the hallway entrance to the living room and those two rooms became her living quarters. And when we hired a lovely woman to tend to my mother’s night time needs, we had a bed for her in the revamped living room.
At that time our five children were either working, away in college or in high school. When they were home they were awesome supports. And various neighbors would call and ask if there was anything they could do to help. I have never been very good about asking for help. In a strange twist a neighbor, Jean, whom I was not that close to, became an incredible help. She would routinely call and say I am off to the grocery store in an hour. On my way I will stop by and get a list of what you need. I came to rely on her calls . I didn’t feel like I was imposing because she was off to the store anyway. Many store trips later it dawned on me that Jean was just very creative in her offer of help.
Have been Googling various quotes on helping others. There are so many to choose from. I particularly relate to the words of Mother Teresa of Calcutta : We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.
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