Making Strides

The last 6 months have been rocky. Okay, that's an understatement, but true. There were times I honestly started to think we would never pull out of our "Gray Period." As is true with all things, however, the sun does come out eventually.

This week has become a testament to the phrase "things are looking up." Daddy has been doing better and better. He has a long road for recovery, but he is himself again and he is fighting for us. I can't tell you how inspiring that is for me when I start to feel down.

I met with our contractor on Tuesday. He is an amazing man who is professional, has a plan, and is ready to kick it into action. He works for a company that specializes in repairing homes damaged in disasters. He seems to be a very honest and dedicated individual. He inspires me to believe we may actually be moving back to our house in the near future.

Then, yesterday, a wonderful thing happened. All this time Daddy has been sick, I have worried non-stop that Gracie and Luke's day care would boot them out. The day care is at his community college. Since he can't attend classes because of his current illness, I was really worried that they would tell me Gracie and Luke could not stay in the program. We do pay a hourly fee for them to attend, but it is a manageable one. Where most day cares charge $750 per month per child, this day care charges us half that. Gracie and Luke love their friends and their care givers. And whether you believe in day care or not, Gracie and Luke have benefited from their time there. Ideally, I would be at home. That, clearly, is impossible (unless I win the lottery). Since, there is no one they can stay with during the day, I have been terrified that I would have to find a way to pay gobs of money for a private day care.

So what is the wonderful thing? Eddie and I (yes, Daddy went with me) met with the day care director. At first, they thought that we would have to pay more than double our current rate for Gracie and Luke to stay. However, since Daddy is currently recovering from a major illness, he can apply for a medical leave that keeps him listed as a student, but allows Gracie and Luke to stay in the program at the current rate. It also guarantees their spots for a year! What an amazing thing! I don't have to worry about it any more.

You can see that things are indeed looking up. Colors seem brighter. Flowers are everywhere. Our avocado tree survived the fire and subsequent 6 months of infrequent watering. Even the once scorched hillsides behind our home have green on them again. The world is just a happier place. I'm so happy that things are looking up.

Maybe this means I can work on saying good-bye to the binkies! What do you think? Should I risk it?