Beginning 2019

January has been said to the be the most depressing month of all the year: after Christmas, long holidays, furlough, cold weather, etc.

Oh, did you catch that?  Yep.  My husband was furloughed from work for 5 weeks.  The longest government (partial) shutdown in history.  It began on December 22, right before Christmas, and the same time that our family had another piece of news.  I shall start at the beginning.

(Yes, readers, I know I am very behind in my posts.  My brother mentioned that it was time to update my blog, and with the many snow days we have had, I decided I would give it a try.)

Christmas Eve we decided to go to an early vigil Mass.  4:15 to be exact.  Emma sang with my Mom, and I was super proud of her poise and joy in singing for God.  Our family brought up the gifts and Lucy was able to hold a ciborium and did it SO well!

Because Daddy was furloughed (ahem, or shall we say, my freak out of spending too much at a sit down meal with my parents and other family), we decided to pick up an easy dinner and go home, on a route that we don't normally take.  We are in our van and just down the road a bit, and we have to stop completely, because there is a man in the road. Whatever he is doing, he never sees us, and keeps doing whatever is so important.  As we wait with our hazards on, we feel a big bump/crash.  Lucy and Emma start crying immediately, and it takes me a moment to realize we have been rear-ended. With ALL of my children in the car.  All the boys in the back seat, and please Lord let us all be safe.  

We got creamed.  Called family nearby, who came to get the kids out of the car (Emma was leading the rosary as we waited for the police and my sweet brother-in-law and nephew to come and help) and took us home as Tommy and his dad, who arrived later, came to help.  No injuries at the scene meant no ambulance would come, thankfully.

We came home, made a quick taco dinner, and decided to go to the ER to make sure we are all okay.  I was so pleased to be told that we had a wonderful family and that we are all okay.  Tommy tried to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" on the phone between check ups to make it feel like Christmas Eve.  

Tommy's car has enough seats to fit all of us, very close together, and we found out the van was a total loss.  We only had that Odessey for a short time (this was my most favorite van ever!), and thankfully both insurances helped us during the furlough with 2 paychecks not coming. (We won't talk about the fact that it may happen again...)

The family was able to get through this month of craziness, and Tommy stayed home re-organizing, purging and keeping busy.  The Lord provided for us greatly during those 5 weeks.  Tommy has been driving his Dad's Duallie (truck with big hips).  We hope to get a new car when the tax rebates come through.  Saint Anthony will help us find a new set of wheels.

Tommy went back to work this week, in the middle of judging science fairs at both schools, a polar vortex and snow storms. Lucy asked for Daddy every day.  The kids never got tired of seeing Daddy at pick up and drop off, and he started to get into the groove of the routine.  I miss the help (I hate driving), and the perspective he has on life.  As he told me, sometimes he doesn't realize things are a stress until I tell him it is stressful.  He just sees it, solves it, and moves on.  So, when I say I stress enough for both of us, it's not far from the truth.  LOL