Huge progress

Not gonna lie. Coming back from Texas has not been an easy transition. As thankful as I was for all the progress made on the house (and so many volunteered hours from our family here), bringing David and his needs into the mix left me running on fumes for the first few weeks. Mike and I have had little to no time to talk or reconnect, I struggled to feel settled or at home, and I found it much more emotionally difficult to leave my close friends and family in Texas than I had when I left in July. Plus I felt like I had to put all my own needs to the side to take care of David and make sure he was as comfortable and cared for as possible. The unexpected 3 week interruption into my new life (new job, new church, new groups, new friends, new routines, new connections, new momentum, etc.) left me feeling very disconnected. I hadn't been here long enough to feel secure in anything, and it almost felt like I was starting over in all areas. 

I'm still having a rough time trying to settle in to this new space and find any sense of daily routine, but I'm making it. We're making it. One day, one hour at a time. As my teammate and I discussed the need to establish solid routines and procedures for our new students coming to campus soon as a way to make them feel safe and secure, it was a good reminder to me of why I have felt so discombobulated. Feeling unsettled can have a huge effect on our mental health. 

I was sick my first weekend home, then my mother-in-law came the second weekend so we could celebrate Thanksgiving, so this weekend was the first chance I've had to clean, organize, put up a few Christmas decorations, and settle in a little bit. 

It definitely helped some. Now to figure out the coordination of schedules and managing how to share one bathroom and take care of David's needs while not treating him like a child, that's the next step. Lol. 

However, despite my own mental/emotional struggle over the last 3 weeks, Mike, Matt, and Mark (Matt's father-in-law) made some HUGE progress on the house that I must congratulate them on. When we first looked at this house with a sunken room due to a basement wall caving in, I thought only crazy people would ever consider buying such a house. Honestly, to me, it sounded like a situation you'd want to run far away from if you had any economic sense. But to watch those three men go down in the basement to assess the damage and come back up saying, confidently, "We can fix that." Well, I didn't know what to even think of that. 

But, lo and behold. That's exactly what they did. It took a little longer than expected due to trying to get the house a little more ready for winter and then for David to come, but this week's progress just amazes me. 

Let's start with a little flashback.....

When we first bought the house

Below is the sunken room, which is the laundry/mud room. 

They completely dug out and tore out the basement walls, along with all the brick on the exterior of that part of the house, jacked up the room, dug out and laid a new footer, and started rebuilding the walls, one brick at a time. 

The shower is to the left of the red brick wall here, so even though they told me I was completely safe, I never felt 100% secure while taking a shower this whole time. 

Coming home from work one day to find a completed wall brought tears to my eyes. 

Definitely a lot of mud right now

The new and improved entrance into the mud room

Sure is turning out cute. I like the white siding in addition to the brick. 

There's still a whole bunch of work left to do, but the main thing is done. They said they could fix that basement, and they did just that. I'm amazed. 

On another note, we were told David would need to see a new orthopedist three weeks after his last appointment in Texas, so we found one that specializes in sports injuries in Carmel, Indiana. We went on Wednesday of this week and were suprised to hear the new doctor wanted him out of casts and in splints instead. However, he wants to follow the last doc's instructions to keep the pins in his wrists for 8-10 weeks, so he's still got the pins in his wrists until the end of this month. He has more freedom now, for sure, but has to be more careful as he's not near as protected as he was in the casts. He still has to be very careful to not rotate his wrists or forearms in any way as long as the pins are still in. 

This year has just been one surprise after another, and quite the unexpected journey.