My mother just moved in.

I think that statement demands a paragraph of its own.

A few weeks ago my mom suffered a stroke, and she’s living with my family while she recovers. We don’t know if she’ll ever move back home. My life has just changed.

During the initial crisis, my sisters and I all rallied together, as we’ve done in the past—when my dad slid down the long hill of dementia, for instance. That part didn’t surprise me.

But what did surprise me was my kids. My very normal kids - who bicker and don’t put their dishes away and leave their dirty clothes on the floor, who have been known, ahem, to whine and complain on occasion, who procrastinate and sleep until noon - really stepped up without me even asking.

When I got the word that my mom had been found on the floor, lying in the same spot for 15 hours, I packed a bag and was driving away within an hour. I was gone for a week with no prior notice.

During that week, with no preplanning, my oldest happily drove his siblings to where they needed to be; the kids did the laundry and cleaned up the house without being asked—which is quite a feat, since we homeschool and our house is always in chaos—and I even found a homemade birthday cake waiting for me on my return. (Sadly, I’d forgotten I had a birthday while I was gone.)

I’m as grateful now as I’ve ever been for starting out on this attached journey. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: All the years DH and I invested in attachment, even when it seemed too difficult to manage, were worth it.

And here’s another little tidbit that makes it worthwhile. Last night a friend of my kids’ was visiting, and she was complaining about how her mother drove her crazy and got on her nerves (pretty typical stuff for a fifteen-year-old!). My oldest said, “Really? My mom is one of the few people who DOESN’T drive me crazy. I’m always able to talk to her and she listens.”

And dang it, when I asked him to repeat it into my iPhone, which I was frantically trying to get to record, he was suddenly mute.
 

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Please welcome our newest Leaders and their Support Groups, Jeremy Arendt of Fox Valley API, Illinois, Kyla Scott of API of Las Vegas, and Connie Matherly of Colorado Springs API. Welcome!

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API Links Editor

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