Insomnia struck again last night. I haven’t been sleeping well the past 4-5 nights, and boy does that catch up with me. I was up from 3-5:30am and have felt like a zombie ever since. My sister Leslie and I try to take our mom out weekly for breakfast. She lives in a retirement community about 20 minutes away and she no longer drives (although she does regularly remind us that her license doesn’t expire for another year!) We like getting her out into the world, and she loves chatting it up with the waiter and forever wishing that she ordered only half the portion they bring. Her attitude and presence has been calm and easy for weeks now. She’s not agitated, anxious, or endlessly repeating herself. I think all the intensity of caregiving for her husband up until his death, the stress of a cross-country move, all the continual change and forging trusting relationships with us has finally settled down, and she has found her new normal. She isn’t as confused or combative, offers up gratitude, and truly seems content overall with her life. God is incredibly gracious to her and to us in this journey. She loves to joke around and even mentioned how hilarious it would be to give the server at Cafe Strudel her Panera Rewards card instead of her Visa card. We laughed and she loves it when others take delight in her!
Tonight, a group of women will come over for my Sally Clarkson MomHeart group. We will be discussing the introduction and first chapter of Help, I’m Drowning: Weathering the Storms of Life with Grace and Hope. It’s actually one of my favorite books of Sally’s, and I resonated with it deeply last year. I am happy to discuss it in community and help each other face challenging circumstances with faith and integrity.
We are in another late summer heat wave this week. Summer always takes its last brutal stand down here in late September. We will hit the upper 90s on Thursday, and then have a lovely drop in temperature the next day. Fall isn’t really fall here until late October, and November is absolutely gorgeous. Even so, I am craving a cup of hot tea, and need to go start a load of laundry. I hope your Tuesday has been filled with small graces and that you notice the ways He is sending His love to you.