Thursday, February 28, 2013

Day 59: Importance of Family



I sometimes question why I live where I do.  Especially in the middle of Winter, this thought often pops up.  However, whenever anyone asks if I will ever move out of Wisconsin, my answer is always "no." And the reason is family.  It is so important for me to always be within easy driving distance of my family.  Being close to everyone makes life more enjoyable. Plus, most of the time, it makes life much more convenient as well.  Holidays are easier to plan, baby-sitters are easier to find, and in case of emergencies, I am always close by.  Last night, I saw the benefits of this first hand.

My father-in-law, Greg, had a major heart attack last night after shoveling his driveway. His wife, thankfully, was there and rushed him to the hospital.  After a couple EKGs it was determined he needed to be taken for emergency surgery. Long story made short, everything went well in the OR and he is currently recovering at the hospital.  The reason I am telling this is because of how important of a role family played last night and only reiterates why I will never move away.

My wife received the phone call around 9pm last night, when they were just starting to run the tests at the hospital.  We obviously needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible, which normally would have been difficult with Emma sleeping, however my parents, who watch Emma a few days a week were staying at my place so we were able to just put on our shoes and walk out the door.  These extra few minutes made all the difference because when we got to the emergency room they were in the process of rolling Greg off for surgery.  We would have missed wishing him well if my parents weren't able to watch Emma which I know would have been very difficult to deal with.

Within an hour or so of when it was discovered Greg needed surgery.  All four of his children and his two son-in-laws were at the hospital. Wether it was making small talk or comforting one another, having everyone there made this night much more manageable. I cannot imagine how difficult this would have been if we were all spread out around the country.  So I might complain a lot about the weather here in Wisconsin, but I wouldn't trade it for living anywhere else, unless my family was right there with me.

Throughout this process I was so amazed with how my wife handled the situation.  She was so calm and brave throughout.  So today, for my act of kindness, I brought home flowers for my wife and wrote her a little not telling her how proud I was of her.



 

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