On Christ the solid rock I stand
all other ground is shifting sand
all other ground is shifting sand
***
So, when I was first married I had a kid at home, and I enjoyed it and did a lot of mom type things.
And then I had an older teenager, and it wasn't as much fun on a reliable basis, in fact it was pretty bad sometimes, and was I really surprised?
And now the kid is 23 (shazam!) and lives on his own, and works and pays his own bills and I am glad for him and proud of him.
That's the way you expect that story to go, essentially. There are bobbles in the middle sometimes. The end doesn't come out quite like you think it will, but it comes out.
For some people, it doesn't come out. Their son dies or gets sick. But for me, it worked out ESSENTIALLY the way I planned.
***
When I was first married, I managed my husband's business (not my best assignment)
We went out dancing a lot. We were 12 years younger.
Last year, Ken got sick. We got through it. I learned how to be a caregiver for a throat cancer patient and I learned a lot of things.
He started getting well. It was (is) slow but GREAT. But slow.
But, I am not sure how to stop being a caregiver and start being a spouse again.
I struggle with this.
Just when I think I am getting there, he gets very sick again with an abdominal complaint, and we are in the hospital for a week plus.
We learn that it's a bad case of food poisoning. Relief! he is getting better now.
But I still can't let go of the caregiving. It's as if I totally fell off of a big Caregiver Recovery wagon somewhere.
How will this work out? I DON'T GET TO KNOW. Darn it.
***
Years ago a priest friend quoted CS Lewis roughly thus: "you'd better not ever love anyone more than Jesus, Mary Beth, because Jesus is the only thing that'll never change." Yeah.