In early February, the day before my birthday, my mother-in-law went in for a major surgical procedure. She has had health concerns for as long as I have been with my husband (we just realized it has been 10 full Valentine's Days!). So although this wasn't something new and unfamiliar, it was still very time consuming over the past month. Everything went as well as could be expected. She was released last night, and came home. She still has a long road to recovery fully, but she is content being in her own home now which is an improvement. The picture below is from our wedding in 2010, she is on the right, next to her on the end is my father-in-law:
Managing a relationship while a family member is ill can be very difficult, especially when it is a parent. We still struggle after nine and a half years of being together on how to find a healthy balance. I find myself slowing down when things get a little hectic, to take the time and think about what is going on, and how to best handle Matt's emotions whether it be sadness, frustration, or even anger. He can be easily preoccupied with humor, so my awkward self puts the cheesy-ness into high gear and I make him laugh (or try to!) It works most of the time, I have to do it nonchalantly though, or he will realize all I am doing is providing comedic relief and not much else.
It is funny because as much as I feel I am the only person who has this current frustration, I did some research online and found so many advice columns and informational posts. One that has a lot of quality advice is About.com Newlyweds: Elderly Care for Parents and In-Laws. Always good to get a second opinion or point of view to put you in the right frame of mind. Especially on things that effect your marriage or relationships. You can be so enthralled in the heat of the moment and forget that you have an emotional investment, maybe too much so to think logically.
Anyway, to recap on the past 4-6 weeks from the last time I posted: 1. I have updated the hallway light, I will post an update and some pictures soon on that. 2. I have started (slowly) to pull out all of the Spring decor, even though the weather is not following my lead. 3. I turned 26, no big deal, just closer to the big 3-0 now. 4. I rearranged our home office, and it is functioning much better than it did before (again I will put up some before and after photos.) 5. The final detail [gasp] we started a bathroom project, painting the vanity, painting the walls, and changing the decor/function.
I know what you're thinking, who starts that when there is already SO much going on? We do - or should I say, I do. I started taking the fixtures off and sanding the vanity while Matt was working one Saturday. Needless to say, he was less than thrilled to come home to more work! In the end, it will make for a fabulous blog post. However now, it makes for a messy hallway and guest room -- that is where all of the bathroom items have found shelter.
