Mother's Day

Joy. As I try to figure out how to put this weekend into words, I can't seem to wipe the smile off my face. This is what real joy feels like. I thought I knew that feeling, I thought I'd been there before....but I think this weekend brought us to a new level of joy. A joy where you just have to look to heaven and shake your head and wonder how God can be so good. But I guess that's what joy is supposed to be...a complete awareness that things are good only because God has made them good. We had a great weekend. Pops was home.

It was an even bigger weekend, as P.J. and Kersta happened to be in from Denver for dad's first overnight stay. Pops arrived home Saturday and we spent the afternoon hanging outside, playing with the grandkids, gettin' a little sun. A highlight was Cole sitting on dad's lap 'driving' with Paige riding behind in a wagon tied to dad's chair. It was pretty funny. I had gone inside to get something when I heard mom yell, "Now STOP it Bohrman! That's way too fast! You do NOT need to go that fast with them!" The kids, of course, thought it was perfectly fine for Bapa to be in Drive 2. The mothers, of course, thought otherwise.

Despite everyone being a little anxious, the night went really well. Since it was his first time overnight, we don't quite have the routine down so it took some time to get him comfortable. With some practice I'm sure it will become second nature. Mom did a great job giving him all his meds and stomach feedings, though dad would probably say at times he was being fed more air than actual food, but we'll let that go for now. He slept like a baby all through the night and never made a peep. Mom on the other hand was up every hour checking to see if he was okay...much like the mother of a newborn needing the assurance of breathing and life.

Pops even made it to church this morning, and it was awesome to see him reunite with people he hasn't seen since the accident. Pastor Terry noticed us in the back row and said a special hello followed by the whole church giving Pops a standing ovation. I know it brought Pops to tears along with the rest of us. What a thing to be loved by the family of God, to know these people have been praying for Pops since day one and have fought alongside us the whole time. I know dad was incredibly touched and it was a moment we won't soon forget.

Tonight, for the first time, dad wasn't ready to return to the hospital. He told mom that this was the first time he was ready to stay home for good, that home is where he's supposed to be. That's a big deal. For him, the hospital has always been the safe place, but after this weekend he's finally ready to come home. And we realized just what a hole he's left in our family the last five months. What a difference it is to have him with us, even when he's just sitting in his chair amidst the chaos...watching all that's going on without missing a thing. Very aware. Very content. Very present. And then tonight when he went back to the hospital...what a hole he leaves behind. I was keenly aware of how incomplete our family has been, it's just not the same without Pops around.

What joy. What a great weekend. I wouldn't trade this mother's day for any other. We didn't do anything too out of the ordinary, just a normal weekend with the fam, but it was unlike any mother's day we've ever had. We go deeper than we used to, we love better than we used to, we appreciate each other more than we used to....and thanks be to God. We are being changed. We are being stretched. And we would never go back.

We praise God for how He blessed this weekend. It's a lot of work and dad comes with a lot of attachments, but for being the first time home I'd say it went great. As mom told the nurses when she took dad back to the hospital tonight, "Look! He's still alive! We did it!"