A Day That Sparkles

The bad run seemed to start on Sunday:

- Sunday: Too cold to cut wood at -26C, but no choice. Then the problems poured in: July fell on the ice and bruised whole left side of body. Gabriel smashed his hand between the 8ft logs and then managed to have a chunk of split wood fly at his leg cutting & bruising it. The good part was the burgers on homemade buns and the homemade fries we had for dinner.
- Monday: Gabriel is really sick from cutting wood in such bad weather, he calls in sick which is just as well because it is a Snow Day and would be bad to drive in anyhow. So we spend the day as a family watching movies and recuperating from the day before. Later that night we realise Will has brought home GERMS from a friends house and is now sick too. The good part was the mashed sweet potatoes, glazed ham and fresh green salad we had for dinner, not to mention the homemade churros.
-Tuesday: Gabriel is still not well, but heads of to work, unfortunately he can't get out of the drive way and in the struggle gets the car stuck in the snow ditch (there is a snow ditch along every ones property...for real), So in he comes to call a tow truck. Will is still sick, Sam is either sick or faking it...in this chaos who has time to figure it out. Winny is the only Edgcomb at school and the whole Island seems to be covered in a thick layer of ICE. After many hours of dealing with the tow truck and scraping the driveway the best we can as well as spreading salt everywhere (which by the way is pointless on that thick of ice) Gabe finally goes off to work hours delayed...(Thank the Lord we live here and not in the U.S. where he would have been written up, warned or even fired). July realizes the extent of her injuries and how much pain she is in now that the adrenalin has fully worn off. The good part was watching Obama officially become The President of the U.S.A. and the the chicken stew and butter biscuits didn't hurt either.
-Wednesday: We are all tired from the past few rough days, everyone is slightly slow to get out of bed, but we pull it together. Gabe heads of to work. Winny is up and cheerful. Will is still sick, Sam...oh.....Sam is having a frigin' nervous breakdown about going to school. Suddenly in the middle of eating his eggs with tears pouring out of his eyes he starts screaming of a stomach ache. What do I do? I know what I would like to do! I send him to bed. after things have settled down and he has woken the baby with his wailing noise, I venture to his room (the only finished room in the house) I talk to him and lay down the line. Part of why we moved here is so he could go to school, so if he is not going to go we should just start packing... harsh??? Yes! You have to be with Sam. Finally we agree I will drive him to school, just this one day and he will be good and cheerful there! Oh, how I pray this works!

Why did I go into all of this? It's simple, this is our experience. There are somethings in these last few days that could happen to anyone any day sure. But when there is so much that is new and it is so extreme (like the weather) it makes this immigrating so much harder. Because every time we are challenged in life we are vulnerable to weakness. With every challenge that comes in our path we have to make a choice... how will we handle this? Will we fall to pieces and start crying? Will we be paralyzed with the fear? Will we pause and wait for logic? Will we tell our selves, "I can do this", and just keep on going?

When you move children it is tough. I remember moving as a child, I hated it! It is so scary and I was used to it, we did it several times a year. We have just moved 5 children from the only home they have ever known since birth and taken them away from all of their family and friends. Why did we do this? Unfortunately, we lived in a place that was no longer a place to raise a family, the schools were beyond imagination dysfunctional, there was no pride of the community, the streets were littered with garbage, and drugs seemed to wreak havoc on many things people would not even think of. Some people don't care about those things, Some feel they need to stay to try to make it better, Some simply do not see it, because they have never known anything else. We wanted more from life both Gabriel and I, since we were kids. We wanted more. Each new phase in life is full of adjustment, and when 7 people and 4 dogs are adjusting in a new country...it's a lot!

Today when we drove Sam to school the whole Island was at peace. The snow laden fields and evergreens appeared to have been dusted with crystal glitter. Every which way the eye glances it catches a million glistening crystals. The sun is dancing upon them now. It would be foolish not to notice such beauty. such a show put on by nature. To take time to slow down and take in the simple elegance in our world. How blessed am I to be here in this moment to witness this! It really makes the trials of the last few days fade away and reassures me that this is right, and it will all be okay.