11 years...

Today marks 11 years since I fell and broke my head.

I've written about it before here and here. With more than a decade of practice in not taking my health for granted, I've become more accepting of seasons when parts of my brain aren't working so well. I admit, that as a former professional writer, it's difficult when the ideas in my head no longer translate well to words on a page or screen. One of the reasons we started this blog--in addition to creating an album of sorts of our home building process and noting the ways we've turned this house into our home--is to simply remember my life. The fact that others have come along for the journey is just a well-appreciated bonus.

I realize I haven't posted an update this November. I can't tell you how many times I've thought about posting, or even sat down at my computer with a goal on sharing something that I've done recently, but the writer's block has been become a wall. It has taken me over thirty minutes to write this paragraph, including three trips to Thesaurus.com to help me find the word I wanted or at least was close enough. Frustrating!

If my words were flowing more easily, I would write more about our incredible two week trip that I highlighted with our day at the International Quilt Show in my last post. For our son, it was a dream trip. We visited the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL, Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi, and Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The high point of the latter was getting a private tour from blogger friend and NASA employee Sarah.

In December, my days were filled preparing for Sinterklaas (and making gevulde speculaas), our son's birthday, and Christmas (including our Sparkle Box tradition). I finished a few quilts and other sewing projects, but mostly enjoyed time with my family.In January, in addition to ringing in the new year, I celebrated my birthday last week and brain-aversary today.

 It's taken a little longer to get back into a routine with 2 rounds of croup for my son in December and 3 snow days in January, but hopefully we are on track now. We have a new guest in our home, Sandy from France, who is observing at my son's school for the next month as part of her education. She will also learn about living with someone with a brain injury.

And so I begin another year of my new normal. Life in the slow lane is peaceful. I love my family and I am loved. On good days, I quilt and play board games and maybe even write a blog post. On bad days, I sleep and thank God for the parenting respite called "iPad." On my average days, I do what I can and give myself grace for the things I cannot. Every day, I am thankful for the life I have been given.