Bless This Mess

Parents know better than anyone that some weeks don’t go as planned and others play out perfectly. The past week has been filled with issues, chaos, and unexpected surprises. It’s been such a drama-filled week that I feel the need to share all of the details with you. If you’re having a long, rough week you’re not alone! Hang in there. Every day, good and bad, brings new lessons and growth.

Friday was a normal, mama and Greyson day and we went for a walk, watched a movie, and I did my usual household tasks. I cleaned, did some laundry, made a list of home projects to tackle over the weekend, and did creative work for my blog. Andrew came home late that night and we were both exhausted by the end of the day. We’ve been bottle feeding our baby cow, Oliver, and fitting interesting responsibilities into our schedule. Bottle fed baby animals are a huge responsibility for anyone whose never had the pleasure of taking care of a sheep, goat, cow, etc. that needs motherly care until they’re old enough to eat grain and hay. It’s incredibly rewarding and you will create a true connection with the baby animal, but it’s tiring. We’ve always had unique responsibilities and fun projects happening at home, but this week took on a life of its own.

Saturday we woke up ready to tackle my list of home projects and sadly, the weather interfered. This has been the weirdest year of weather from the temperature to the tornado-force winds we’ve experienced over the past couple of months. Sunday was a new, bright day and we were determined to complete the home projects with little to no issues and have a good day as a family. Greyson is such a happy boy and has always been easygoing in all types of situations, but for some reason this weekend he was in one of those moods. We all know the mood I’m talking about…the mood that makes us question everything, want to cry (just like them), and makes the child pass out, completely exhausted from their own emotions. I’m a positive person and I always see the light, but this weekend kept testing me. Finally, I felt lighter and relaxed. Andrew needed my help holding a piece of trim while he nailed it to the wall. I stopped one of my creative projects (The Doll Diaries) and went to help him.

I was holding the trim for him, which I’ve done many times before. I’m married to a very talented man whose skills range from construction to farming and we’ve done so many projects together, small and enormous. I always help him and we’re a good team. I heard a strange noise echo from the nail gun and then I felt an intense pressure in my finger. I looked down and realized a three-inch, relatively thick nail shot straight through my finger, luckily missing the bone and my fingernail. I turned white as a ghost and screamed a scream that scared my husband half to death. I looked like a child, thinking the world was coming to an end. Andrew looked at me and I burst into tears, finally feeling the extraordinary pain from the nail. The nail gun had misfired and it was such a freak accident. We don’t even know how my finger was in the way or what really happened, but the end result was a nail through my finger. Andrew told me to look away and he pulled the nail, in the blink of an eye, out of my finger. I screamed again, in complete shock. My finger was black, blue, and bright red and I kept looking down at the two, giant holes in my finger and felt as though I was going to pass out.

Andrew is incredible in situations like that and he took care of my finger, disinfected the wound, wrapped my finger, and reassured me that although it’s going to be very painful for a few days, it’s going to be okay. He felt awful, because he nailed a finger through his wife’s finger, despite it being a total accident. I tried to continue with our day and push through the pain, taking painkillers and being as careful as possible, but even changing Greyson’s diaper was tough. Andrew managed to finish every home project that day alone and I tried to stop replaying what happened in my head over and over again. At the end of the day, I laughed and looked over at my husband. I said to him, “Babe, I thought my finger would have to be amputated.” He fell over laughing and said, “Baby…you’re a trooper and I’ll never forget the look on your face when you held your little finger up to me with the nail sticking out of it. You lost your tan for a minute…you were so white.” It was a very eventful day.

Memorial Day was beautiful and the weather was perfect. I was in a lot of pain and my finger had swelled up; my finger looked even worse than it did when it initially happened. On our way home from Shoprite, ready to barbecue, drink, and relax, we smelled a horrible, burning rubber smell. We pulled up to our house and sat in the truck for a moment, confused as to what we were smelling. I looked out the window and the back end of his truck was smoking. Smoke poured out and the smell became worse. It’s also important to note that it’s a work truck and Andrew had just finished installing a new front bumper, grill, and he put about $2,000.00 worth of work into the truck a couple of weeks before. I grabbed Greyson and rushed out of the truck, panicked. Andrew hosed down the back end and sparks, smoke, and a white, smelly haze came off of his back brakes. His brakes literally caught on fire. This event delayed the entire barbecue and evening. I ran inside and poured an extra-large glass of wine for myself and sat with Greyson on our deck, finally taking a deep breath after the weirdest, craziest weekend we had experienced in a very long time.

Yesterday I drove Andrew to work and picked him up since his truck is at the mechanic and it was a busy, but normal day. Greyson and I wound up waiting for Andrew at the end of the day for an hour and we drove around, discovering a beautiful park near his work that we didn’t know existed. Greyson and I walked around, relaxed, and soaked up the sun while we waited for Andrew to be done for the day. He had a long, complicated roofing job far from the office. The day came to a close and we both fell asleep happy and relaxed. This morning I drove him to work again and on the way home I realized my tire pressure was dropping rapidly in my one tire. It was seven in the morning and I was barely awake. I was so excited to get home and cuddle with Greyson.

Anyone who knows me knows that my truck, Luna (a 2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off Road) is my baby and I’m so careful with her. I always make sure she’s clean, detailed, and that everything is in perfect condition. I arrived at the farm forty-five minutes later to feed Oliver and I looked at my tire, knowing something didn’t feel right and there was a giant nail lodged in my expensive tire. I couldn’t believe it! A nail through my finger and then a nail through my truck tire…what was happening? Did I offend the universe and deserve a crazy, bad week? I wanted to cry and laugh. Luckily, I got my tire fixed late this morning and it’s perfect again, but it was one hell of a morning and a week I will never forget!

The moral of my long, detailed story is that everything comes with a lesson. I learned that my husband can handle and take care of literally anything and that he always does. He took care of my finger, called to arrange for my tire to be fixed while he was at work, because I was overwhelmed, and thanked me over and over again for the ride to and from work, incredibly grateful for me and our relationship. I am so grateful for him and for our strength as a team. I learned to never take any good day for granted and that every day, even the messy ones are a blessing. I also learned that there’s nothing I can’t handle with a little positive thinking, a deep breath, and a glass of wine…of course!

Cheers to life’s messy moments 🥂