Save the drama has been a favorite phrase of mine for years, until I became “The Momma”, and the official handler of drama. Apparently, I was due to create a little of my own this week. This post is meant to be the biggest THANK YOU card I’ve ever written. And hopefully, now that the scary part has passed, I can laugh a little at my continued adventures in Motherhood.

For anyone not in the loop this week, our stay at home was short and sweet. And punctuated by a spinal headache that would have necessitated only a trip to the ER had it not been for one brilliant anesthesiologist and a pesky case of preeclampsia. And here is where my thank you begins:

A Globe-Sized Blow Up on your Front Porch with Balloons Thank You to Keri, who on a moment’s notice took Sara for a full 48 hours. What could have been traumatic for our Ducky was merely a fun stay at Camp Bryce. Cared for so preciously by our good friend Keri, that through some of my most frightening moments, I never had to worry about my Sara. We missed her so sorely that we peppered all of our conversations with Sara-Speak. “Greg, could you get me some water?”, turned into, “Do you want Wa Wa ICE?!”. “Do you want some Choc-y Milk?”. We may have missed her, but not having to worry about her changed the entire color of this adventure.

A Thank You that seems to go on for a lifetime to my Mother, who begged me for two days to call the doctor and do something about the headache; the headache that was actually a gift from God to allow a doctor to find something much bigger to heal within me. My Mom, who packed bags for my daughters and myself in 5 minutes flat to head to the ER; My Mom, who managed to care for Sara for almost a week straight after Kelly was born; My Mom, who has put up with my bitching and moaning for the, um, say the last 35 years; my Mom who with a horrible throat infection and cold, held my head, and then held my newborn in an ER for what seemed to be an eternity; My Mom who, although we tease her endlessly, never, ever, ever lets go. Never. Because, as she said to me Tuesday, that’s what Mothers do.

A huge Thank You to Ana Paula, who sat in the dark with me for hours, holding and feeding and changing tiny Kelly. With her own tiny one to manage, Ana Paula still came to help. She will never know how much it lifted my spirits to laugh so hard about our adventures with Spirited Children and share in the horribly embarrassing moments pregnancy has brought us. I will never remember all that we said under that Magnesium Sulfate fog, but I remember we laughed. I choose to take that part with me.

To all the friends and family who called and offered to help and who did and who could and who we love to our core: we thank you. Trust me, at 2am, in our 3rd hospital room of the night, when we were wondering how we would manage a newborn, a 2 year old, an hospitalization, breastfeeding, and an incapacitated Momma…every one of you came to mind. And while we’ve always thanked God that our cup runneth over with people we love, it was shockingly clear at that moment. The impossible became possible, allowing us to focus on the emergency at hand. I will forever be humbled at the generosity you offered. We only hope to to be to you what you have been to us this week.

And finally, to my husband…my God, there are no words. I know you signed up for this caper when you said, “through sickness and in health”, but that statement should have included a footnote for anyone marrying me. It would have read, “you agree to listen to 20 months of complaining through pregnancies followed by recoveries that will include you doing EVERYTHING for her and the girls…including things far too disgusting to add to a blog.”

In all seriousness, while he displays this kind of generosity and compassion every day, I am forever in awe at Greg’s dedication to our family. Every challenge brings out the best in him. The things he has done for me in these 4 years…here, I am at a loss for words.

I do however, have a memory. Wednesday, I awoke in a drugged fog, scared to death at to what was happening and wondering why was it happening to me, and I looked over to see Greg calmly sitting in a chair, with the morning light filtering in through the drapes. Kelly was propped up on his legs, facing him, and he was chatting away to his baby girl. My vision was blurry, but I could hear the two of them, just enjoying those precious minutes when a newborn wakes up and stretches. Greg got up to change her diaper, knowing full well he’d change every diaper that day. He knew every feeding, he’d have to either latch her onto me, or help me pump. And there he was, same smile, same strong consistent mood, taking care of his girls and loving the journey. Not one complaint, not one shred of doubt that the meds would work and we’d be home in a blink. To say that I love him  with all of my soul is a poverty of words. He is the sun around which the three of us orbit.

I am also so grateful for the prayers and the healthcare providers that healed me.  The prayer chain stretched from the Green Mountains of Vermont (thank you GG), to Florida.  I am grateful for the capable and honest nurses who truly had my best interests at heart.  Greg has always teased me that I will travel far and wide to find the best healthcare.  The Best! I often exclaim.  Only The Best! OB would have figured out that I was slipping into an atypical version of preeclampsia called HELLP Syndrome early enough to save my liver and kidneys from damage.  I have daughters to raise, which essentially means, I can never die.  Only The Best! for me and my family.

So in closing, thank you, thank you, thank you.  Slowly and surely we are getting back into routine.  And today I am laughing about the fact that after only 7 days of having 2 girls, I’m already on blood pressure medicine.  That can’t bode well for me…..HEE HEE HEE!!!!

My Devotion To You All,  Lori