Several weeks ago I realized I’ve been running on empty for a while. Between my mother-in-law’s death early last year, some unexpected medical situations with Big Guy, and a number of on-going situations with other family, I’ve been giving and giving and giving–and I haven’t done a good job of taking care of myself.
Last week, I had a thought. Hmm, maybe I need to start doing some things that fill my soul and replenish my emotional resources. If I don’t, I’m going to be hit hard if anything else happens.
Turns out I was right.
Our 23-year-old son (the one kid who lives with us) called us from his friend’s house Saturday to say that he had cut one of the tendons to his thumb when he was opening a package of guitar cables. We drove to pick him up (Big Guy had his hazard lights on and blew through every traffic light on the way there), and while there wasn’t any blood, it was pretty clear that his thumb was non-functional.
We got him to the emergency room at the hospital, where it was determined that he needed surgery the following morning. So on Sunday, instead of going to an out-of-state family reunion as we had planned, we went to the hospital and watched my son get prepped for surgery.
Everything went well, and at no point were we concerned about any threat to his life or anything big like that. However, by the time we got home and evening arrived, I realized that I had been completely depleted. I lay down in bed and didn’t even have the mental energy to play a mindless game on my phone.
A good night of sleep helped, but then yesterday saw an hour and a half on the phone with the insurance company, the hospital, and the surgeon’s office, and then a drive to the occupational therapist so my son could set up his appointments and get a new splint.
Last night I once again realized how depleted I was. I felt like crying, only I didn’t even have the energy to do that.
Today I woke up planning to write a blog post and realized that what I really need to do is just take care of myself and my family for a few days.
So that’s what I’m going to do.
I thought I’d point you to one of the posts from my archives to read since I have nothing new to say today. I’m going to suggest that you read Just Breathe–because it’s exactly what I myself need to read today!
I’ll be listening to this song today . . .
. . . and heading to the park to take a walk, and reminding myself of how I ended the post I linked to above.
Just breathe, and rest in God.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-29
If you’re running on empty, you might want to try the same thing.
Image credit | Chris Taylor
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I’m sorry to hear about your son. Hope it heals quickly and fully. And yes, I too needed this reminder. I’m a big fan of deep breathing for relaxation.
Thank you. I am hopeful of a good recovery for him as well, although the doctor said it isn’t likely that he will regain 100% of function. As long as he can cook and play guitar, he’ll be happy–so he is behaving himself. 🙂
Praying for a strong recovery for your son.
We all need time to refill our souls and our life breath.
Hope to hear from you again soon, with renewed energy, increased vigor, and refreshed power of purpose.
Thank you. The last couple days have been good for me. I know I need to continue to be intentional about replenishment and self-care, and just the little bit I’ve done this week has reminded me that it is do-able and that even small things make a difference.