Tuesday, March 25, 2008

On the upswing

My week of chaos has come to an end. The neuro evaluation, D & C, consignment sale, Easter celebrations and voice recital are all behind us. And I feel a sense of peace and gratitude that I made it through everything so well. Each thing on my list went, while not perfectly, far better than I had anticipated. And I cannot help but praise God for one answered prayer after another.

I recovered quickly from my D & C on Friday and by Saturday I was out running Easter errands with the rest of the parental universe. Although, I do admit to a wee bit of disappointment that I was only able to milk one day in bed out of the ordeal. I didn't even get to finish my novel. Maybe I shouldn't have prayed so hard on this one.

While I haven't received my check from the consignment sale yet, I was pleasantly surprised by the small stack of items left to be retrieved on Saturday. Most of my things sold. Including a couple large ticket items.

And Clara's neuro evaluation, my biggest source of anxiety, went as well as could be expected. The doctor saw a couple things that could be reasons for concern, but is not yet ready to take the steps to explore them. She didn't see any glaring problems and her gut feeling is that with a little physical therapy Clara will be a walker before we know it. She gave me a referral to an early intervention program for these services. That referral alone - the golden ticket her pediatrician had refused me - brought with it a sigh of relief. If, after a few months of therapy, Clara has still not made any progress we will return to the neurologist for more tests. (i.e. an MRI) I was even very surprised to find that when we went to her appointment the doctor's office had a change of heart on their strict "payment in full at the time of services" policy. In some ways that was the biggest relief of all.

And my mailbox has been rebuilt. And Ben's school called me today for a job interview.

And lastly, Allison had her recital last night. She did a lovely job, as usual. So for the sake of the friends and relatives that were unable to make it, I am posting this video. The sound and picture quality are poor because I took it with my digital camera and not my video camera. I have yet to figure out how to transfer videos from my video camera to my computer.


And now I will return to the typical level of busyness that is our lives. Basketball and t-ball practices, orthodontist appointments and 15 loads of laundry. A choir lesson to plan and 200 posts in my Google.reader.

But today I am unusually thankful for the mundane things I have to do, and the time in front of me to accomplish things like laundry and blogging. And for the gift of God's presence and grace last week when I was without time for any of it. And for all of you who prayed, and encouraged, and who will rejoice to hear how well things went. I am thankful for each of you as well.

17 comments:

Chrissy said...

So glad everything went well. Especially your recovery, although you really should have gotten to at least finish your book!

Allison is so adorable I could eat her up with a spoon. Her voice is gorgeous. You must be busting with pride over that recital.

flutter said...

((hugs))

Beck said...

What a gorgeous voice Allison has! That's one of The Girl's favorite songs, too.
You know what? A friend of mine was just telling me that HER little girl needed pt to start walking, too - a few weeks of that and she was running around like nobody's business.

Beck said...

What a gorgeous voice Allison has! That's one of The Girl's favorite songs, too.
You know what? A friend of mine was just telling me that HER little girl needed pt to start walking, too - a few weeks of that and she was running around like nobody's business.

S said...

1. Yay on your quick recovery! Thank goodness!

2. Yay that Clara's neuro evaluation was basically A-OK!

3. So when's Allison auditioning for Idol? Seriously! She's very good!

Kyla said...

She has a GORGEOUS voice! Wow!

I'm glad everything went well. We have that sort of week this week. The just drain me!

Chaotic Joy said...

Thanks SM! Allison has informed everyone that she is NEVER auditioning for American Idol. She's far too sensitive and thinks Simon is just awful to be so mean to everyone.

Amanda said...

All in due time, no? So happy that you are buoyed with a relief of sorts. Hoping the months ahead bring steps to a lighter heart and, of course, to a big brother. Watch out, once she goes I bet she goes fast!

karen said...

I'm glad to be able to hear Allie sing again - she's so good! Thanks for posting the clip.

I'm also glad to hear your recovery was swift (although I would have asked for a slightly slower bounce-back, if I'd known you had a book to finish...)

Clara's neuro eval seems in line with what I (and you) thought - she'll walk when she's good and ready to and not a moment before! I hope that she'll be ready before she hits the unbearably heavy to carry stage.

Your mailbox got rebuilt fast! Would you mind sending that poor new driver up my way? I have a kitchen that is sorely in need of a rebuild and it seems like your method of going about the work is MUCH faster than ours!

the dragonfly said...

Allison is fantastic and brought back many memories; I was Liesl in my high school's production of The Sound of Music when I was a senior. Such fun!

I'm so glad everything went well. I've been thinking of you...

Christine said...

i am so glad everything went well, sweetie. you must be so proud of allison--what a great voice and a great song!

Running on empty

Lisa Spence said...

So there is indeed joy out of the chaos--praise God!

Lynn Stallworth said...

Allison is the most beautiful singer! I think Taylor did that song at a recital when she was still taking voice. It's sounds familiar!

Great Job Allie! As Randy on Idol would say, "YOU CAN BLOW!" LOL!

Anonymous said...

OK, so I, Jody, am lame and have to post anonymous. I don't have a blog account since I just can't seem to find the time, unfortunately, to get into this world. I am not even going to bother with setting up an account becuase I know how tempted I will be to start then. Alas, perhaps when my masters is finished I will try!

Anyway, Allison was, of course, super. I hated to miss it this year. I guess this recital was different than the musical she did last year though. She always has been so creative and musical.

How awesome that your procedure went smoothly and recovery went well. Glad your Easter family function at your house didn't overwhelm you during your recovery. I was a bit worried you were taking on too much, but of course us mommies seem to take on anything these days.

Well, once we survive this crazy month we will have to squeeze in a visit.

Take care!

Unknown said...

oh my gosh Allison's voice is beautiful! so angelic! does your school system do musicals? thanks for posting her video!

painted maypole said...

oh, allison! i am clapping for her from here!

Anonymous said...

Wow Joy! Of course I always believed you when you said Allison had a gorgeous voice, but that video just proved you right! She is wonderful!