Life happens, tests and the strength of Job
I often wonder if God rewards good parents or if he plays games with our heads to test our strengths. These past few months have been tests to say the least.
It started when I took my 2 week vacation on July 30 to work on the windows of my house. I began that Sun., the morning right after I worked the resaurant. I logged 190 hours in those 2 weeks stopping only for coffee and sodas and finished each day at sunset when I couldn't see for the lack of light. I'm sure I don't have to tell you the house looks wonderful. All the paint bright and crisp. The house is 170 years old and I honestly don't think the windows have been touched in probably 80 or 90 years. I didn't buy replacement windows but opted to restore them myself for lack of funds. All in all I finished 27 windows, restored 2 doorways and made 2 new doors on the back of the house for a cost of just under 500 bucks. Mind you, all these windows have 24 panes of glass in each of them. It was quite a chore but I'm very proud of myself and they look fantastic. I'm sure the paintjob will outlive me at this point. I'll let my kids take care of them after I'm gone.
That's IF my kids outlive me!
The true test of this summer happened 10 days ago when I had just finished working a double on Fri. the 24th. It was late, about 12:45 am when I got a phone call from the hospital with a nurse telling me my son had been admitted and that he had a cut to his arm and could I get there soon. WHOOPS! What the fuck!
I asked my wife where he was supposed to be and she said he was at his friends house so I figured they were skateboarding as usual and told her I'd go and for her not to worry and that I'd bring him home.
WRONG!
When I got there they told me to come in right away and that they were prepping him to be transported to Albany Med to be worked on by specalists to repair the injury.
OMFG!
I tried to act calm and cool when I saw him and what he had done but I'm sure my fear showed through a bit. He's 14 and as big as me. He's a tough kid but was crying and trying to tough it out through the five ER staff that was working on him. My God!, this wasn't a cut, He damned near took his arm off!
As it turns out he was at a party he wasn't supposed to be at and had a fight with his girlfriend and punched through a glass window. The cut was right in the crease of his right arm and went from his far elbow bone to the other bone on the other side. I measured it and it was 5 inches across and opened up a good 2 inches. You could have placed a large lemon in the hole he gashed. I took pictures but they're too graphic to post here. Maybe "Rotten.com" might like them.
My own fear set in at this point.
I called my wife and told her what was going on and she made arrangements to have the other kids watched after and she was with me in a matter of minutes.
By now it was 4 am and we were leaving for Albany. After 3 hours af surgery and about a mile of guaze we finally got home about 12:30 pm. Just in time for me to go to work at the resaurant again.
We were pretty busy but I don't remember too much of it. I couldn't get my son off my mind.
He's getting the stitches out in about another week but if he screws up and doesn't let it heal he could lose the function of his muscle. He cut through the bicep so it HAS to heal. Trying to keep a 14 yr old is hard.
OK! That's part one of this trial by fire,,,,,,,
The big kicker happened just 2 days ago on Fri. afternoon, the 31st.
I had just gotten home from my first job and was getting ready for my second. I was bending over tying my shoes when I heard my 10 yr old screaming as he was comming in the door,,
"HELP, HELP, I BROKE MY ARM, I BROKE MY ARM!"
The little boy who cried wold wasn't crying wolf.
My wife said, "How do you know you broke it", as she she rounde the corner and suddenly cried out "OH MY GOD! GET IN HERE!"
As soon as I saw it, I knew.
"Let's GO!" I shouted and we were out the door. I'm just glad I was home. I'm not sure my wife could have handled it well. She can't drive as fast as I did, plus I had to carry him into the hospital. Five more minutes and I'd have been gone.
Two fridays in a row,
I think the hospital is gonna name a wing after us.
The hardest part of being a parent is the feeling of helplessness when your kids get hurt. This is my second to youngest and it's the first time he's had to endure real pain so it was extra hard for us to go through especially when they had to reset it! EEEK!
He's got a cast on and I'm sure he'll be fine but I still worry about the painful nights of sleep, the frustration of doing things with his left hand and the start of a school year for both of them without being able to write for the first 2 months.
So I ask,
Does God reward good parents for their strength or does he throw more at them?
I'm not letting my daughter leave the house next Friday night!
It started when I took my 2 week vacation on July 30 to work on the windows of my house. I began that Sun., the morning right after I worked the resaurant. I logged 190 hours in those 2 weeks stopping only for coffee and sodas and finished each day at sunset when I couldn't see for the lack of light. I'm sure I don't have to tell you the house looks wonderful. All the paint bright and crisp. The house is 170 years old and I honestly don't think the windows have been touched in probably 80 or 90 years. I didn't buy replacement windows but opted to restore them myself for lack of funds. All in all I finished 27 windows, restored 2 doorways and made 2 new doors on the back of the house for a cost of just under 500 bucks. Mind you, all these windows have 24 panes of glass in each of them. It was quite a chore but I'm very proud of myself and they look fantastic. I'm sure the paintjob will outlive me at this point. I'll let my kids take care of them after I'm gone.
That's IF my kids outlive me!
The true test of this summer happened 10 days ago when I had just finished working a double on Fri. the 24th. It was late, about 12:45 am when I got a phone call from the hospital with a nurse telling me my son had been admitted and that he had a cut to his arm and could I get there soon. WHOOPS! What the fuck!
I asked my wife where he was supposed to be and she said he was at his friends house so I figured they were skateboarding as usual and told her I'd go and for her not to worry and that I'd bring him home.
WRONG!
When I got there they told me to come in right away and that they were prepping him to be transported to Albany Med to be worked on by specalists to repair the injury.
OMFG!
I tried to act calm and cool when I saw him and what he had done but I'm sure my fear showed through a bit. He's 14 and as big as me. He's a tough kid but was crying and trying to tough it out through the five ER staff that was working on him. My God!, this wasn't a cut, He damned near took his arm off!
As it turns out he was at a party he wasn't supposed to be at and had a fight with his girlfriend and punched through a glass window. The cut was right in the crease of his right arm and went from his far elbow bone to the other bone on the other side. I measured it and it was 5 inches across and opened up a good 2 inches. You could have placed a large lemon in the hole he gashed. I took pictures but they're too graphic to post here. Maybe "Rotten.com" might like them.
My own fear set in at this point.
I called my wife and told her what was going on and she made arrangements to have the other kids watched after and she was with me in a matter of minutes.
By now it was 4 am and we were leaving for Albany. After 3 hours af surgery and about a mile of guaze we finally got home about 12:30 pm. Just in time for me to go to work at the resaurant again.
We were pretty busy but I don't remember too much of it. I couldn't get my son off my mind.
He's getting the stitches out in about another week but if he screws up and doesn't let it heal he could lose the function of his muscle. He cut through the bicep so it HAS to heal. Trying to keep a 14 yr old is hard.
OK! That's part one of this trial by fire,,,,,,,
The big kicker happened just 2 days ago on Fri. afternoon, the 31st.
I had just gotten home from my first job and was getting ready for my second. I was bending over tying my shoes when I heard my 10 yr old screaming as he was comming in the door,,
"HELP, HELP, I BROKE MY ARM, I BROKE MY ARM!"
The little boy who cried wold wasn't crying wolf.
My wife said, "How do you know you broke it", as she she rounde the corner and suddenly cried out "OH MY GOD! GET IN HERE!"
As soon as I saw it, I knew.
"Let's GO!" I shouted and we were out the door. I'm just glad I was home. I'm not sure my wife could have handled it well. She can't drive as fast as I did, plus I had to carry him into the hospital. Five more minutes and I'd have been gone.
Two fridays in a row,
I think the hospital is gonna name a wing after us.
The hardest part of being a parent is the feeling of helplessness when your kids get hurt. This is my second to youngest and it's the first time he's had to endure real pain so it was extra hard for us to go through especially when they had to reset it! EEEK!
He's got a cast on and I'm sure he'll be fine but I still worry about the painful nights of sleep, the frustration of doing things with his left hand and the start of a school year for both of them without being able to write for the first 2 months.
So I ask,
Does God reward good parents for their strength or does he throw more at them?
I'm not letting my daughter leave the house next Friday night!
posted by Doublebogie at 7:57 AM
1 comments
