Why have we been MIA for the past several months
As you can see, it has been a several months since I posted anything to the blog or vlog. The point is, amidst the COVID Pandemic, we have had some traumatic events in our family, let’s call them “Adventures”, that really took me off kilter. I wanted you, my Peeps, to know and understand that this blog/vlog is important to me, but one of my core values is family, as it should be. Family always comes first, so when I describe what has happened to our family, you will understand why the blog and vlog have moved to the back burner for the last few months. The good news is, I am finding my writing “legs” again, so I will pick up where I left off, with the following explanation.
Some of the last posts and videos were of my birthday trip to Great Wolf Lodge in August. That was an awesome, close to home and safe option to celebrate my birthday with my boys. We had a blast, but the honeymoon was soon to be over.
On August 31st, my 14-year-old Dustin (pictured on the right above) was in a bicycle accident. He was transported by ambulance to the Children’s Trauma unit here in town. He was placed in a medically induced coma (complete with a pediatric ventilator that was breathing for him) and was in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for a night. Miraculously, and by powers that the medical teams cannot explain, he walked out of there the next day. To say we were lucky is an understatement, and we are grateful. He has some remaining brain injury healing to do, but all in all we were super lucky.
As many of you are parents, you really cannot imagine the emotional toll this type of injury takes on your soul. Watching helplessly as teams of people fight to keep your child alive is not something any parent should have to witness. I left a piece of my soul at that hospital that day and thank my lucky stars that we escaped reasonably unscathed. That alone would set most people back on their blogs/vlogs.
Then on September 18, a mere two weeks later, my father-in-law, Fred Hayden, lost his battle with lung cancer. He was the patriarch of our family. A fun loving, smart and loveable man that we loved more than words can say. And although we knew he was nearing the end, we did not know how deep the emotions would run, especially with our kids. You cannot prepare your children for the death of someone they loved so deeply. The cut ran wide and deep, and we struggled as a family. We still struggle with his loss through the holidays. Things just are not the same without him.
But wait, there’s more! On November 3rd, my brother was rushed to the emergency room for urgent gall bladder surgery. My brother is the primary caretaker for my father, who is 88-years old with advanced stage Alzheimer’s. So as my brother struggled for his life with multiple complications from his ruptured gall bladder, the caretaking for my father rested on our shoulders. We moved him into our home and Took care of his until Christmas. My brother’s recovery was slow.
Finally, a bit of good news came to the home front when our daughter Samantha announced that she would be having a baby this Summer. After 18-weeks, we now know that it will be a baby girl. I have named her Baby Bella, her parents have yet to decide on a name, but Izabella is in a strong lead! You can imagine the joy we felt to know that we would soon be “Grumpy and Grammy-Ness”!
The point is, these are not excuses, this is life, and these are our true adventures. The good, the bad, and sometimes ugly. I am thankful every day for the blessings we have been given through all of these traumatic events. After all, you can only see the light during the darkness. And these were some dark, dark days, especially during a pandemic.
I want to be crystal clear; I am not apologizing for not keeping up with the blog/vlog. I am also not seeking sympathy. I simply want our followers to know what has happened. I stand firm that my family comes first, always. And if that means cutting a vacation short or putting everything else on hold, then so be it. My family is and always be my springboard, my muse. They are the reason we started Grumpy and Vee in the first place.
Moral of the story is this: Life happens. It happens to every one of us. Good things. Bad things. And Ugly things. Eventually, you move past it. Eventually, you get back to living… just differently. You learn a new normal. That’s where I am today. In this moment, I felt the need to at least explain why I was MIA for the past several months. So now you know, I thank you in advance for your continued support. Thanks for being here reading the Grumpy and Vee Blog. We appreciate you!
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