Weekend - That's A Wrap!

?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?Hello folks and happy Monday!

Once again my apologies for any blog loading issues you may have experienced trying to follow along. It **SEEMS** to be resolved now…..so we will hope it will stick!

This past weekend the Northern VA area experience very fall like weather for so early in September - we were even chilly- and it was glorious! Fall is always such a welcomed change, cooler temperatures, gorgeous colors, and school supplies- I just eat it up every year. Sadly this week we did not have a lot of time experiencing it outdoors, but even running errands with the windows down and a warm Starbucks that actually feels appropriate makes you smile.

Friday was a really productive day….and I just ate it up! I was home with my mom and we cleaned out her office! As you can see by this quick collage there was a fair amount to do! To me there is nothing more satisfying then digging in, making a bigger mess empty all the baskets and bins and papers and then cleaning it ALL UP!!!! We ended up staying up until 4AM powering through and seeing start to finish made it all worth it! Although the mani-pedi date, Mexican lunch treat and Starbucks sponsored trip really helped too!

Hope my mom loves her new space and for me…..it did my OCD, a-type heart some good to get something off the to do list with her!

Saturday was full of rain, rain, rain……I ventured out to my alma mater's high school football game to watch my sister dance and see the stadium for the first time this season. It was cold and rainy….but I rocked my O’Connell colors and flip flops and had a great time with my mom and cheering on my baby sister Brig.

Bridget has totally embraced high school just like I did - perhaps even better as she is a little stronger in the books department - and I have LOVED watching her enjoy. This week she even asked me to help pick out her high school ring! Of course any time with a sister, can be fun - but since Bridget and I are 13 years apart I always really appreciate a chance to part of her day to day world. It makes me feel like we can still share the school experience, even if those days for me are a distant memory.

Saturday night and the majority of the weekend for Danny was watching his health. Every 3-6 months (more often 3-4 but he has had an exceptionally healthy summer this year) he needs a hospital “tune-up”. These are IV meds that are provided directly to the lungs using a “picc line” and help him clear out some of the mucus and junk collecting in his lungs from the CF more aggressively. As the years have gone by his veins have become worn and not able to withstand a full IV line directly to the lungs. The alternative has been a “mid-line” - longer/further in the vein than a normal IV, but shorter than a picc line. However the last few tune-ups the mid-line has started to fail…..so chances are he will need a new plan. This new plan can be more invasive and wear him out longer than most tune-ups. Thus far we have been lucky to avoid the hospital and a decision on next steps, however the luck is starting to wear out.

The plan of trying some new meds to jump start (love all these car analogies??) his system and maybe put off the hospital a little longer started last week. We were told to see how the weekend went…..well - not great. So this week Danny will be needing a tune-up. For the weekend it left it pretty low key and for today a lot of time spent talking with the Docs about next steps. This tune-up will be really different as Danny will be going to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Not only a longer ways away and with a new CF center - Dan’s veins will be going through a new experience….it will be different and require some faith, patience and prayers. But as with most hospital stays, I am sure Danny will be back on his feet and hopefully feel much better.

Knowing the days ahead and that we have had to cancel a few social things, Danny was generous enough to support my joining my mom in Richmond last night. She was there for a seminar today so I went to visit one of my closest friends who lives in Richmond and have some down time. It was sublime! Just the company, wine and fluffy hotel bed was FANTASTIC - and more than worth the trip! But then I joined my mom at the seminar….

It two hours with Katherine Lee (learn more about her here: http://theultimatesource.org/about-us/#.VBeUh0uyhtU ), who talked about designing your life. She was all about finding your heart’s desire, hope dreams and how to actually go about getting them! The most refreshing part that really spoke to my heart was how she explained that hoping and dreaming is scary! It really pushes you and stretches you….but if you can learn to move with the pushing (even at your own pace) you will see amazing things happen.

Right now I am standing at a crossroads that feels full of tons and tons of signs. All these different options, yet none of them offer a clear path or strong opportunity to move forward. Instead it feels like a lot of signs telling me where I could be if I could just get my sh*t together. These signs are just staring at me reminding me of unfinished goals, lost chances and confusion of where to start. Especially not even knowing what tomorrow holds- hospital or not? Will my new job be ready in a few weeks? Or what the heck next month will look like at all! I can’t remember the last time one week to the next offered any predictability. This makes it pretty hard to just choose a path!

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However Katherine broke it down to bit size pieces and just reminded me that its not the BIG paths, its not the 5 year plans - its right now, and maybe tomorrow. Then when you have taken a few steps forward you can start to think about a month plan. Then maybe the year can come into focus. However the BIGGEST things to remember are to go at your own pace (take your important breaks and recharge), have faith in the fear and just keep going. When I felt like throwing in the towel yesterday, I was met with this spark for life…a hope for what the future COULD hold instead of what it seems to not be telling me...it was amazing.

A mixture of a quiet and crazy weekend. A variety of activities lies ahead for this week….but I am feeling so ready, as I embrace the fear and faithfully move forward!