They never listen; large or small.....

So this has been quite the interesting week. Last Friday, Steve told me he wanted to go mountain biking with a neighbor on Saturday morning into the early afternoon. Seeing that we had an early Halloween party that particular day, I asked him not to go (he always comes home later than he says he will). He promised me he would be home in plenty of time to dress up in costume and go. Reluctantly, I agreed that he could go.

Saturday morning I got up early as I needed to get Layla's nails clipped at the shop. I also needed to run to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients to bake some festive cupcakes that I intended to bring to the party. When we got home, I started baking the cupcakes and organizing our costumes. We were going to be a caveman couple and Malachy was the Grim Reaper. Lovely mix...

Just before noon, I could hear the phone ringing. I thought to myself, please let this be Steve so I know he'll be home in time for the party. He usually calls me as he's leaving from his ride to come home. Because the phone was upstairs and these bones are getting too old to run upstars as fast as I once could, I missed the call. Caller ID said it was from Steve. So I listened to the message he left for me.

Stuart was now on the Dumbarton Bridge, driving him to the emergency room as he crashed on the trails and he believed he broke his collarbone. He told me that his bone was sticking up, out of his shoulder area. Gross. So I shut off the oven, called to Malachy and we met him there. A few hours and a bunch of x-rays later, we discovered that he did not have any fractures, but he did have a serious separation. They sent him home to ice it, along with some handy-dandy pain medicine and told him to call the orthopedic doctor on Monday when they are open for the week.

Oh yes, it gets better....

On Monday, Steve went to the doctor. The doctor told him that he needed surgery in order for them to bring the shoulder joint and his clavicle back to where they should be. He was scheduled for late in the day on Tuesday.

Monday, we got the bare necessities completed during homeschooling. Tuesday, I tried to push a little more, since it helped take our minds off of the upcoming surgical procedure.

Steve went into surgery at 5:00 and was home by 9:00 in the evening. The surgery went well, but he had a terrible reaction to the anesthesia. The pain meds knocked him out that evening and he got some sleep, however, I got very little.

Wednesday, Malachy was really dragging his feet with his school work. We started late, he had too many breaks as I needed to attend to Steve often, and then we ended the school day fairly late as well. Knowing that Steve has to be home for two weeks to recover, I really wondered how I was going to be able to juggle the school work and now the nursing duties as well as everything else I had to get done.

Last night, I again tossed and turned. Couldn't sleep and when I did, I had strange and upsetting dreams. I woke up soaking wet and shivering from sweating. This morning, I woke up to lower back pain, the same pain that comes and goes and that which I have been been struggling with for a long time. I couldn't sit very well or for any amount of time in the computer chair. I took some Alieve and went along my merry way.

After taking care of dog and bunny responsibilities, starting laundry, changing sheets, cooking breakfast, getting Malachy's school day organized and then straightening the living room (which has become Steve's hospital room) all before 9:00am, I was getting a little cranky. Just a little! So Steve said he would help me with cleaning. The guy is wearing a sling and can't hardly move his body, what the heck did he think he would be able to help me with? But I had a better and a brilliant idea!!

Today for school, Malachy had a substitute teacher. His name is Mr. Saeedi. He went through all Malachy's subjects with him, with the exception of his Literature which I can help him with after lunch. And I got to even lie down for a half hour to rest my back. I'm feeling better already.

Maybe having Mr. Saeedi home for two weeks, won't be so difficult after all. Steve may not be able to use a vacuum cleaner for some time, or mow the lawn, or continue with his dedicated poop-patrol, but I have a feeling he can still be very valuable to both me and the boy. I told him that you don't need two arms to help a boy with his education. Just a lot of patience and a sense of humor, can go very far.