Downs and Ups

PLEASE NOTE:  THIS POST WAS WRITTEN ON WEDNESDAY  I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY.

Have you had a day when you just know, without a doubt, that God is with you?

I spent the morning at home with Craig to observe his independence level.  Craig isn't allowed to shower without an adult in the house because it's one of the two instances that he can remove his brace.  This scares me silly.  Clark G. (a.k.a. Craig) requested a BLT for lunch, so this morning I cooked the bacon and then realized that I needed to move the remaining ingredients to the top shelf of the fridge.  He can't bend, so I have to think ahead, but I'm working on making life a bit easier.  Today, his first day alone without nurses or me, he managed pretty well.

This is where it gets crazy. 

Last Tuesday, I was gently (and tearfully) informed by President Edna that due to the economy, my temporary job would end on January 4th, 2010.  She offered references, help finding a job, and letters of recommendation.  What a compliment!  I was devastated, but I do understand what the budget crisis in Minnesota is doing to the MnSCU institutions.
 I hesitated to say anything to anyone. I needed to process and think things through.  I completely forgot about the situation when Craig got hurt; obviously, work was the least of my concern.

I walked into work at 11:30 a.m today and was greeted with smiles, welcome backs, and many "how is Craig?"  It was so worth it; beautiful to realize how much human nature is kind, compassionate and caring.

About 30 minutes later, I was asked  to see the VP for the Alumni Foundation.  After she closed the door, she explained that one of her best employees was leaving, and asked if I would be interested in taking a modge podge of responsibilities.  I accepted.   I will be mainly handling events and some fund raising (the Phone-A-Thon) and whatever else they send my way.  I'm thrilled, excited and eager to learn.  I will do what is needed and beyond; I'm tickled!. 

It's been a roller coaster of a week.  My goal for the weekend is to finish the housework (I did get the floors scrubbed, dusted, and the cleaned the bathroom, but the bedrooms are another story).  I also hope to make several dishes that can be frozen into small portions for Craig (and me for work).  Recipes welcome!

Craig is healing slowly, but surely adapting.  He is bored to tears, and I can't blame him.  When he looks forward to laundry, I know without a doubt that I have to get creative.

Home Sweet Home

I just got Craig settled on the couch, although he won't sit still.  Imagine that.  He's thrilled to be home and thinks he should go blow snow.  The doctor made it very clear that he is under no circumstances to work, drive or lift.  He can take his brace off at night or for a quick shower but that's it.  He is to be on his back and taking frequent but brief walks.

The plan is to see Dr. Eichler again in two weeks for another C.A.T. scan and follow-up check.  This should determine if the brace is working or if surgery will be required.  He also hopes to return to work in the physical form at that time.  Either way, he will have 4-6 weeks of physical therapy after the brace is off and/or surgery (pray no surgery).

In the mean time, I am gong to finish housework so he can move around when he needs to without tripping on anything, and so that I can pull the extra weight while he's on bed rest.  I'm sure that Craig agrees with me that pain meds are a gift; the combination of the three help immensly.

I can't send enough thank you's to everyone who has visited, called, emailed, texted, taken care of Murray, and everything else I can't remember at the moment.  I know that God, friends and family will get us through.  Besides, Craig never lets me take care of him when he's sick, but now he has no choice. Think "Misery"; insert evil cackle here.
Thanks again and blessings.
Craig, Marie and Murray

Update. . .Finally

Emilie's Crew:Roxane and me:

The Cathedral of St. Paul:

The dome of the Cathedral:

The Catholic Spirit, where Emilie worked:

Buca di Beppo:

Note: This is a combined post that I began writing on Monday and have finally finished today.

To my new reader: I'm thrilled that you found my blog and are following my posts. However, I haven't been able to find your comment, so if you be so kind, would you mind commenting one more time? I would appreciate your help. . .I would like to know more about you!

With the weather today, I opted to keep Murray home instead of trying to navigate the wind and roads to daycare even though she did have it open). It turned out to be a terrific day. We played all morning and then we took a three hour nap. Being a stay-at-home mom keeps looking better and better.

I haven't heard about the job yet, but I am praying that the dreaded "you weren't the candidate for us but we enjoyed meeting you" letter doesn't arrive tomorrow and that I will receive the "We think you are perfect for the job" phone call. I'm expecting the former, but time will tell.

The journey, you ask? Here goes:

Roxane arrived at our hotel at about 3pm on Saturday. I was thrilled to see her! From there, we prepared for Emilie's party and arrived at Buca di Beppo right on time (the only time we were prompt for anything that weekend as it turned out). Although only nine of us were all able to gather together, we were a darn fun group. We talked, laughed, cried, and laughed. I can't describe how amazing it was to meet these kindred souls that knew Emilie.I wish I had the words. You will find new links to some of my new found friends' blogs, lutherliz and marketingmama.

On Sunday morning, I woke up a bit late (I didn't even hear Roxane getting up) but we made it out of the hotel on time (or so we thought) to attend Mass at The Cathedral of St. Paul. The problem was that I punched in the address to Buca instead of the Selby Avenue address for the church. After driving past the Cathedral, arriving once again at Buca and turning off the voice that is Tom Tom, we "reached our destination". (after waiting for the slowest train in the history of trains). Thanks to Roxane for trusting her instincts versus relying on electronics.

When I was telling my Grandma Kate about our adventures, she reminded me that she grew up just down the hill of the Cathedral of St. Paul, which is where we parked. I thought it was so neat that we were right there, where my history begins. God was on a mission and it so much fun to discuss with Grandma the area and her childhood (which I'm quite familiar with, but it is awesome to be able to picture her neighborhood).

One of the funniest mements in our travels happenended on the way home. We were looking for a Target, so we took the Wayzeta exit. To the right was a Holiday, but when looking toward the left, we assumed we'd wind up in the business district, therefore, finding a Target. Approximately fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves once again at the Holiday with no Target in sight. Oh boy, did we laugh. We headed back on the "motorway" (tom tom again) and found the Target store in Alex, which Rox is familair with.

I can't end the saga of our journey without mentioning Roxane's Aunt Betsy. We met up with her for brunch after Mass on Sunday, and what a thrill it was to meet her. She is incredibly bright, sophisticated, and just all around wonderful. I am so thrilled to have met her! I do hope to get together agian.

UPDATED: January 27th, 2010:

I've been slacking again. I'm not sure what is causing my writer's block this time, but there it is. Nothing much has occured in the Beckerleg household since my Monday post (see above), but I do have some pictures to post. Big thanks to Roxane for sharing them with me since my camera was on the fritz.

Let's hope this writer's block is over for the time being.

Thanks for reading,

M

Random Thoughts

Note: This is an edited version of today's post.
The days since my last post have been hectic, to say the least. Our anniversary was wonderful . It was so much fun to be together, to celebrate our love and reflect on the last four years. That's all I will say - it was just such a special evening.

I wouldn't however, recommend eating at Up The Creek. Our steaks were very good, but the place was just like any other Timberlodge, Applebee's, Red Lobster, etc. - i.e. boring. Same old, same old. The atmosphere was blah - we just didn't feel like it was a "special" place. Maybe a good spot for a gathering, but not an anniversary. We probably could have gone to McDonald's though, and I would have been happy. It was just great to be out together.

Murray spiked a temp of 103 on Saturday evening, so Craig and I took turns on the night watch. He still wasn't himself on Sunday, and his right eye was swollen and red, so I took him to the walk in clinic. Thankfully, it's not pink eye, but the doctor thinks it's periorbital cellulitis. Not a good diagnosis, and can be dangerous if left untreated, so hopefully the anitbiotics will take care of it. Nothing like a good dose of fear to get our adrenaline pumping.

This was the first weekend pretty much all summer that we have stayed put at home, and it was nice. We sat on the deck, putzed around the house, ran some errands, and just relaxed (and tended to our sick little one, of course). I don't want to rush summer by any means (it is my favorite season after all), but there is something peaceful about quiet fall weekends at home. Brisk, sunny days, snuggling under the covers, bright, crunchy leaves, something yummy stewing in the crockpot - it's all so magical. Sometimes I feel like all we do is pack and unpack in the summer to hurry up to relax. So, when summer sadly winds down, I find comfort in a beautiful Minnesota autumn.

We accepted an offer on our mom's house last week. We close August 29th. This means that we'll be wrapping up the final details of her estate very soon. I can't bear to think about the house not being ours anymore, but there isn't any reason to hang on to it. We'll always have our memories, I guess, but it just feels so final - I can't really describe it right now. I have been avoiding thinking about this all weekend. I probably need to face it head on, but I just can't yet. I need to work through this in my head first, you know, the business aspect first, and then I will let my heart in. Right now, it just hurts too much. I'm not ready to give in. . .

Four Years Together

Four years ago today, at this time, I was just stepping (ever so carefully) into the dress that I would wear the moment my life changed forever. Today is the day that I joyfully became Mrs. Craig Beckerleg. I love you, Craig. More than you could ever know. . .

I'm feeling pretty good today. I had an episode last night, and rushed to hit the record button on the monitor, but much to my dismay, realized that I had my wires crossed - literally. You see, there are two lead wires (like an EKG), one is black and the other is white. White should be connected to your right shoulder/chest area, and left goes under your left breast above your hip. OOPS. I had them backwards, so the tracing wasn't valid. Oh well. I'm sure I will have another. :) It was just a little embarrassing when I called the pacemaker clinic to send the tracing.

Murray has a sitter tonight (thanks K!), whom he loves, so Craig and I are going to go out for dinner. We are way overdue for date night, and I'm really looking forward to it. I rarely wear makeup or do anything special with my hair in the summer (it just melts anyway), so tonight I will pull out all the stops. We'll probably be home and in bed by 9, but that's life with a little one. I wouldn't change a thing.