Bob’s discharge date is set for next Wednesday, June 20 and this is three months to the day of the accident. I feel as if three seasons have gone by even though it really has just been spring that has gone by with Bob not at home.
On the day of the accident, there was ice on the road which caused Bob to lose control of the van. Winter.
A very rainy three months followed where I saw the flowering trees and bushes at my house bloom and fade. Spring.
And now it is starting (is it really?) to get warmer. There have been days where Michael is dripping sweat. But let’s face it, he’s a sweaty boy when it’s 50 degrees out. Summer.
Three months of this year. 25%. One fourth of 2018. It’s seven more “sleeps” till he’s home. Five more sleeps for me at Brittany and Joey’s and two more in a hotel.
And my husband wants to go to the beach on his first day of freedom. The man RARELY wants to go to the beach. He would rather be in a pool. And while I enjoy an ocean breeze, I despise sand. But what my baby wants, my baby gets. I’ll let you know how it goes or if he realizes it’s too exhausting to go. He told me “It’s the first day of summer. We HAVE to go”.
And then after two nights of Bob and I on our own, so that we can get the lay of the land and understand how to maneuver around the house with each other, Michael will come home. We will be a family of three for two days and then tiny baby will come back into the mix.
It’s unbelievably terrifying for me to not have the security of extra people to be there at a moment’s notice to watch the kids for me now that we’re going to be back out the middle of nowhere. It’s alarming to be solely in charge of Bob’s care. I know he’s made incredible progress and will continue to do so while he’s in outpatient but it’s still a little bit scary.
On the flipside of being terrified about this next step, the excitement is almost unbearable. I can’t wait to be home. Make meals at our house. To rock Michael in our rocker and read him a story. To be able to see Michael play with his kitchen set and the drum set he loves so much. To be back in my own bed with my husband. To discover what has been in the “date night” boxes that have kept arriving (a gift for Bob for Valentine’s Day).
I’m also looking forward to a summer that will be very different than any one Bob and I have ever had. He usually works harder in the summer to make up for my income ending. Much of our time will be spent in outpatient therapy between Bob and both boys and about 20 appointments for all of us over the next two months. Because of the teacher schedule, you schedule all of your appointments in the summer.
So more juggling, more spinning plates. But we’re a team. And we can do this.