Thankful for Life

This year has definitely been the hardest year to date. My heart has been heavy for so many and watching news headlines was hard. I learned to turn off our tv and tune into time with family right here within our walls. Not only has the virus had a tremendous impact on our nation but also our daily life and our finances. Also, this year marked the one-year anniversary of my falling off our roof. My emotions have pretty well comparable to that of a busted can of biscuits. Truth.

Story time!

This time last year my husband and I were installing rafters on our new home. It’s been my dream to build my own home since I was a little girl. We were told by several friends who have been there, that building at home will challenge you in every way you can imagine. And boy oh boy were they all right!

However, as you can probably imagine, never in those dreams did I ever think it would happen the way it did and the way it would completely change my life. The day I fell off of our roof became one of the biggest challenges I would face.

Over the course of this year I continued to struggle physically, emotionally and mentally with the aftermath of having fell off our roof.

When I fell off of our roof, i went headfirst into a concrete retaining wall.

We live pretty rural so my husband actually had to leave me at our home with 3 small children to meet the ambulance for them to follow him to our home. When the paramedics arrived, they actually measured my fall and we learned I had fallen 8 feet. I was loaded up and taken to the nearest trauma center. Imagine... 30 minutes in the back of a bumpy ride in complete pain from head to toe!! Awful.

The amazing thing is I had no head trauma! NONE!! Though I could not walk, I was certain that being alive was good enough for me!! I remember feeling overwhelmingly grateful in that moment because I thought and felt I was going to die. I experienced the greatest kind of love in the months following the accident.

I went from being a busy mama to 5 kiddos and certified yoga instructor, living a very active and healthy lifestyle to depending on others to help me walk, bring me meals and help me to the bathroom. Dear friends drove in from hours away to sit with me, watch our toddler during the day and drive me to physical therapy and chiropractor appointments. It’s a hard thing to be dependent on others when you’ve been so independent your entire life. Through that I’ve learned it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to have help.

I am so thankful for the friends, family and complete strangers that gathered around me, stood for me when I physically couldn’t stand for myself and truly showed me what love is! The entire experience has taught me that things can change as quickly as we can blink an eye.

My heart and life has changed in the best way I can imagine.

I’m incredibly thankful because although now I do life a bit differently, I also get to do life more lovingly than I ever could have before that day in June.

I’m thankful for kindness (even sometimes from strangers), grace, love, sunrises, breathe in my lungs, hard lessons and getting to do life big.

I’m thankful that even though holidays will look a little different this year, I’m still around to do them.

I truly believe that no matter what 2020 has and continues to put in front of us, I know that together, we can walk into any battle and win! Together is how we keep thriving!