This morning I woke up before 5am to check to see if we have any urine in the U bag for the 24 hour urine study Lydia is currently doing and I could not fall back to sleep so I ventured to the green room to find coffee.
As I stood there waiting for my coffee to brew I looked around the room and thought of the good times we have had in there... the night playing Code Names with Holly, Kirk and Nate when Lydia was little and the afternoon a friend met me there for coffee after her child's appointment.
My coffee brewed and I headed to the play room where I thought about all of the amazing times my kids have had in there, the laughter with friends, the pretend meals and so many fashion shows.
As I walked to the stairs I looked around the great room... each of those couches hold a memory! From Jillian helping Kohls take down Christmas decorations, to showing the staff her photos of her Make A Wish trip, to Jillian and Alex playing I spy on the cow, to Bridget singing their silly Sesame Street songs together and Lydia and Laura crawling around on the floor laughing.
I headed up the stairs to the second floor kitchen to check out what cereals were in the cereal lasagna today and thought about the family dinners. We visited friends at rmh before we ever stayed here and we had dinner with those friends and I remember being in aww of the community that happens at dinner. This amazing community time like nothing else I have ever seen made us in turn want to help cook family dinners to give back to the community.
There were no sugary cereals so I headed towards the stairs to go up to the third floor, but as I walked past one of the rooms by the stairs I was reminded of last 4th of July. It was raining and the kids were a bit bummed that we were not going to see Fireworks so we joined with a couple of friends and had a movie and game night. However, as we all went to go back to our rooms fireworks started so we all gathered at the window in the one room that had a good view and watched the fireworks and played with glow sticks.
As I reached the third floor kitchen I thought of the s'mores and tiara party we had just a few weeks ago. Several of the girls friends were at the house and we all gathered together for a much needed night of laughter and playing and chocolate.
I sat down to eat my bagel and thought of other places in the house that I hold dear...
The managers office where we go to celebrate the victories like completing a hard test and the first place my kids want to go when they are disadmitted (Jillian's word for discharge). And its the place that I can vent to people who are there for us when an appointment is hard. Its the place where the HoHo pen lives that Lydia loves to color with when we check in and where Jilli is always asking how she can help around the house.
The art room were joy is found. Last night Jillian took an embroidery class (which she thinks is called bribery) and is so very excited about her new skill. The many nights spent in art therapy where art was the medium used to work through our feelings. The nights I have cried during music therapy as Jillian sang again after being really sick. In the art room we met another family on our first night ever at the house that would become a life long friendship. The art room is also where Alex introduced Jillian to fairy hair, something that a glitter loving 6 year old thinks is amazing.
The garden is the most sacred place I think I have ever been. There is just something about that space that feels like you are in a place like no other... I think that has a lot to do with the people who pour their love into the garden. That space has provided places to have deep conversations with friends, to leave notes for the fairies (they write you back too!) and to learn the alphabet. It has instilled a love of gardening in my kids that I could have never given them on my own.
Its not often that in a house with 70 rooms that you are the only person in any of the common areas, but before 5am when the house is sleeping, there is a different beauty about it then in the hustle and bustle of the day. A beauty that reminds you of the blessing that this place is.
There is nothing I could ever do or say to repay the blessings this house has been to our family. Our kids have grown up here, made friends here and learned more skills then I could have ever taught them and for that I am beyond grateful!
This place is so much more then walls, it is a community, built on love that gives of itself to hold others up in the midst of challenging days.
Thank you for writing so much of what's in my own mind and heart as a "regular" at RMHC. ❤
ReplyDelete