For better or for worse...

Well, it has been FOREVER (over a month!) since I posted. So in the spirit of the meaning of "blog" (web log) I need to catch up before moving forward.

For better or for worse is the name of this post, as the month of February (the one month of the year that represents LOVE) gave our marriage of over 28 years an opportunity to test both.

For Better: We had an incredible twelve days to sit in the sun with friends and family in Cabo.

We woke each morning to an incredible sunrise, somehow always different from the day before.

The first 5 days we spent with friends of 25 years, just the four of us. Our children and grandchildren joined us for the last seven days bringing our total to fourteen.

Pool, beach, beer, snorkeling, sand castles... you get the idea: 14 days of fun in the sun! Even the twins who are three and half didn't have time to snivel about a thing!

At the end of the trip, we surveyed "Who wants to come back next year?"

The answer was unaminous!

We got back just in time for me to repack and head to New Orleans for a real estate convention called the Keller Williams Family Reuinion. Even though I was tired from such a great vacation, I was really looking forward to the convention as it's such a wealth of training and networking opportunities that I was excited about going (even though we left for the airport at 3:45 am!) We finally got to New Orleans on Saturday (there were 7 of us in our group) in time to get settled in the hotel and head out for dinner. (Still wondering what the difference is between creol and cajon spices??) Sunday morning we headed for the New Orleans Convention Center just a few blocks (LONG blocks) down the way. First day of classes left me pumped for what the next 3 days would add!

Heading back to the convention center it started to drizzle just enough to wet the streets and sidewalks. And if you've been in New Orleans, you know their sidewalks leave a lot to be desired. Loose cobblestones, gravel, decayed asphalt... that's my story and I'm sticking to it! I slipped coming off the curb, bounced twice before telling the others not to move me, I was in too much pain.

I went to the scariest emergency room in the country (but then I don't have a lot of experiences to draw from to be honest). Hours and xrays later it was determined I had broken my hip. and would have to have hip surgery.

Here's where the second part of my post comes in.

Or for worse:

My husband (sitting in front of the TV in Colorado) got the call about 10:00 Sunday night. By the time I was going into surgery the next morning, he was on a plane heading to New Orleans.

What is amazing is how quickly a very independent, self sufficient individual can change to total dependency needs overnight! I don't know how my husband tolerated me over the next few weeks??? Surgery happened on Monday and I was released on Friday. In the meantime, I learned how to use a walker, why handicap bathrooms are so important, and how to shower when you can't stand up!

On Saturday we were booked on a flight back to Denver. I had plenty of time to worry about people bumping into me, how to get into my seat (even though it was a bulk head, I was a handicap IN PAIN and had no experience in navigating these types of things!) How to get from a walker into a wheel chair and then HOW TO TRUST PEOPLE to PUSH me! During the 3 hour non stop flight home, my oldest daughter and her husband got a handicap toilet for me, converted my regular shower to a hand held, and made arrangement to get a temporary ramp over the steps so I could get into my house when I got home.

My husband spent the next three days at home with me, continuing to help me with every imaginable detail of my daily survival activities. Something he has never had to do before, and something I have never had to rely on him to do.

My sister flew in to release him of duty on Thursday of last week. And every day gets A LOT BETTER!

But through all of this, even though I'd prefer NOT to have had this experience, it is reassuring to know that when Jim and I took the vows promising "for better or for worse" 28 years ago... he meant it!

February, 2010 wias a GREAT month for me!