A long, long, long week...with more to come...

I know I promised a blog post on heat and lighting preparedness...and I will do it...just not tonight, I'm afraid.

It has been a terribly long and trying week. Monday was "off" since El Husbando was home, and we *never* get anything done substantially around here, when he's on a holiday. Tuesday, he spent half the morning home, because he'd moved some lumber Monday afternoon, in his shop...and torqued his back. Wednesday, he spent the whole day at home (back again). Thursday and Friday, fortunately, he was at work. So...the first half of the week, was spent dealing with El Husbando and his back issues. Thursday was a frantic "make up" day of all sorts of household and schooling tasks, and today, we were gone from 8am til 4pm. He was at work, and we were up north of here, doing some speech therapy, a trip to Super Target, and a trip to a Salvation Army in that same town. Let me tell ya, I am wiped. out. Two plus hours of driving, two hours sitting there trying to keep a lid on two 2 1/2 yr olds, two other children at all times, trying to get schoolwork done and the toys not strewn about too much. Then the shopping. Came home, and El Husbando very sweetly made dinner and now it is being cleaned up. But mercy, I am tired. I want to go to bed, but I know I'll lay down and toss and turn.

After dinner, I got a phone call from my mother, informing me that my father has been involved in an accident at work. He's a mechanic. The rains they had down there leaked in through the roof, and got all over the shop floor, mixing with the oils and such on the floor. Then he slipped on it, and twisted trying to avoid hitting himself on some equipment, hoping to catch himself. It didn't work, and he hit the concrete, all twisted up. An ambulance had to be called to transport him to the hospital. That was around 2 this afternoon, ET, and when they called us, around 9pm their time, they were just then leaving the hospital. He had messed up his hip/leg/back. It is a muscle/nerve issue, and something that will take time to heal. There is nothing I can do from here, other than pray, which is difficult to deal with. I would much prefer to be fluffing pillows, making tea, and bringing him his pain meds (I suspect my mother will make sure he takes his pain meds regularly, if only to temper the irritable patient that resides within him, lol).

One of the worst parts about it, is that this is a car dealership, of the Government Motors variety. The service managers have been trying to get people to quit for some time, because if you quit, you cannot draw unemployment. And they do NOT want to pay unemployment. Of course, my father had planned on staying until he got to the point he literally could not take it anymore, and then work it so that they ended up firing him instead of him quitting. I do not know how this injury (even though it should most definitely be covered under workman's comp) will affect that, however. I am grateful that my mother's job provides medical benefits. Not great, but something. However, the fact of the matter is, that my parents need my father's income to help meet the regular monthly expenses. This is not a good time to be getting injured, especially as work has been slow for his shop for a very long time now.

Please, if you would, pray for my father ("D") to heal quickly and well, and for my mother ("S") to bear up well under whatever he slings her way (because he is just like my grandmother, and she does not handle infirmity well at all). Pray for a quick resolution to all of the issues that they will be facing.

And please pray I get some rest this weekend...hopefully, I will be posting the much anticipated "light and heating preparedness" blog post sometime this weekend, if all goes according to plan. But you know what they say about planning? "I told God my plans, and He laughed". :-)

Rachel