I mentioned on Twitter this morning that life has been crazy. A few friends have commented on cryptic tweets and Facebook updates, wondering what’s going on and how they can help. I appreciate the concern so much. I won’t deny it – the pressure is really high right now. I will be at our children’s hospital for six out of the next seven days. Tonight we were invited to a special event recognizing people who made a difference last year, but the rest of the visits are for our youngest. He has a procedure on Friday that will determine whether he will need surgery this summer. Oh how I pray that he does not need more surgery because if he does, it sets the stage for many more surgeries later. But we want the doctors to make the best decision for him, and if the best thing for him is surgery, then so be it.

All of this hospital time (we have to get him to the hospital at 6am Friday and then I will spend the night with him there) has required me to ask for and accept help. This has never come naturally, though with twelve years of practice, I’m getting better at it. We have friends and family who are helping get the other kids where they need to go, bringing meals, and keeping us company while we wait for the test results on Friday. We feel very loved and supported.

Life never slows down for things like this, though. Many other facets of our life are in a state of flux, putting extraordinary strain on Scott and I as we try to hold things together at home. We’re both so thankful that home is the one place where things are relatively stable. This wasn’t the case 18 months ago.

All that is going on is wreaking havoc on my less-than-stellar-under-normal-circumstances capacity to do what needs to be done. True confession: I took these photos this morning.

I’ll be spending the next 36 hours vacuuming and tidying and purging paper. Or maybe not. I’ve been reading about personality functions and Myers-Briggs types this morning while carefully ignoring all the grass and Legos sprinkled all over my floors.  (My husband and I have an ongoing debate over whether I’m ENTP, “The Visionary,” or INFP, “The Idealist.” He says, “You can’t be INFP; there is nothing laid-back about you, Joy.” I say, “It says INFPs are intensely loyal, pursue ’causes’ with devotion, and are great starters but horrible finishers. That’s totally me! Being adaptable and intense are not mutually exclusive.”)

What’s going on with you? How do you function when everything in your life begins to change? Does it show in the state of your home or somewhere else?

***

On Wednesdays, I host a link-up for anyone willing to step away from the pretense that all is well, take off their mask, and write naked. We have tremendous capacity to encourage one another in our weaknesses by sharing our lives from the trenches, acknowledging how hard it can be, and telling each other, “You’re not alone, I’ve been there (or I’m there now), and together we can get through it.”

If you’ve written anything unmasked, link up below! Please link back to this post so your readers can find others willing to bare it all, and then make sure to visit at least two others and leave them encouraging comments.