Today, when I walked in, I could tell my dad was tired from yesterday. I was a little down, too, as the radio announcer I was listening to on the way was talking about Jesus dying on the cross. Thinking about that is crushing. So, we were both sad this morning.
Thankfully, my dad perked up after I fed him spoonfuls of a delicious-smelling strawberry smoothie. Papa was watching the news and I just kept those spoons coming.
When the occupational therapist arrived, it was clear to everyone in the room that we would not be doing a lot of standing exercises today. Era encouraged my dad to go down to the gym anyway, and it turned out to be a productive session.
Bella the therapist helped my dad develop his core strength so he could sit up straight with only us supporting his left elbow and a person spotting behind him. It was terrifying to let go of his shoulder because I thought for sure he would fall back, but he steadied himself and was actually able to do it for a few moments. It was a lot of work, and given how tired he was this morning, it was really amazing that Papa, with Bella’s guidance, was able to sit up straight. Thank you for your prayers. That is a big accomplishment for him.
Physical therapy included more practice moving his left leg, with plenty of exercises. After that, Papa had a good snooze, right through most of speech therapy. Lilia Safyanovna always talks about not pushing folks too hard and just allowing and encouraging them to do what they can, and my dad definitely gave his all today. He gave us all he had.
Later, I picked up the youngest (it was good to see Walker teachers as I drove up!!!!! One of the teachers was dressed up like a bunny and it was every bit as awesome as it sounds💗). I drove the little guy to a play date with his friends so he could play soccer with zero pressure. He looked like he was having a great time! I came home and saw that the middle child brought home a cake for doing a good job on a poster for math class (kudos to him, and to the teacher!!!!!). I had a chance to talk to a friend, which was extremely important and encouraging for me! Thank you for calling 🩷❤️ It really means the world to me. Then the oldest drove all of us to pick up the youngest, and then the oldest kept driving us all the way to dinner with Era (thanks to my amazing aunt for staying with Papa!!!). Dinner was quick. Then, the youngest got a sneaker cleaning kit, we met up again with Era, and then went home to — you guessed it — clean some sneakers.
Right now, we are winding down over here. Thankfully, I already prayed the rosary before dinner as I am pretty tired and ready for bed.
I don’t have anything Earth shattering to say today. But that’s because I am thinking of Jesus, and what he did really was Earth shattering. There’s really nothing I can add to that. He was exhausted and in tremendous pain, but He did it all for us because He loves us. So much. 🩷