The New Normal...

It’s been quite some time since I’ve written a blog as it’s been hard to figure out what to really write about. We, and when I say “we” I am talking about Ed and I, started this blog to keep everyone up to date on his battle with sarcoma. That was the purpose. Well, as we all know, his battle is over. So do I end the blog especially since it’s no longer “we”? Or how does it evolve and serve a different purpose, along with the entire supporting team's website, Facebook community etc.?

I’ve written a few things to keep people informed about how the kids and I have been doing, but I just can’t imagine writing to everyone letting them know about how we are all dealing with our grief of not having Ed here any longer. Many keep up with the goings on of our family mostly by Facebook posts, emails, phone calls and the occasional Skype happy hour (my personal favorite). It’s in these vehicles that I can share my feelings one on one, share my tears and laughter, and I appreciate all of you that have been on the receiving end of those conversations. They are never easy for either of us, but as true friends and family, you have been there. And I am thankful.

So here we are on October 3, 2013. It has been eight months since Ed has passed. Eight months to the day. It’s hard to believe, and really the biggest indicator that the time has passed is the changing of the seasons. I had this notion that I was going to get through the summer with all kinds of projects and goals, that many of you have seemingly “been with me” in enduring. The biggest was of course was my quest to skipper my boat with the ultimate goal of scattering Ed’s ashes out in the waters surrounding San Juan Island. I wouldn’t say my boating skill building went exactly as I had expected but I did it. I managed to successfully, and with some level of confidence, tow the boat with the truck, skipper the San Juans and lay Ed’s ashes to rest exactly where he requested.

In addition and on a more day-to-day pace, many of you have kept up to date on my new lawn mowing expertise and the love of new lawn grooming toys (my next purchase on the docket is a powerful leaf blower), my scooping up and disposing of dead creatures in my yard, and the ever so famous HUGE spider in my garage that I had to call my neighbor to kill (I just don’t do spiders). And finally, let’s not forget the bird getting inside of my chimney stack and then fireplace. Not my biggest moment of strength as I “called the people” to come help, as even I realize my limitations.

And the most recent thing that happened was last weekend during the torrential rains. Turns out my gutters need to be cleaned, something I was aware of but had not yet scheduled. Well unfortunately, two of my gutters were majorly clogged so much so that rain was pouring off of my roof, creating a pool of water in an area near vents to my crawl space and inevitably letting water into the crawl. Not a good situation. One of the gutters I could reach. There I was on a ladder, with gloves on, scooping out leaves and crap from the gutter. The other one was one that I just couldn’t get to without help and thankfully; one of my friends came over and took care of it for me.

I was telling a friend of mine about this whole gutter situation which lead to talking about how I hate when this kind of thing happens. Ed took care of all of these things related to the house. I never took it for granted, but at the same time, it is always such a reminder of not only how hard some of this stuff can be, but that he is just not here. And he’s never coming back. As much as I half expect him to just walk through the door with his familiar “hey babe”, it’s just not going to happen. And I know this. I hate it, but I know it and I accept it. I’ve never been in denial about his being gone. I watched it happen. The entire 18 months of his illness to his very last breath.

And people say time helps. It does. And with the change of seasons, I have become acutely aware of the change as well as my own changes; my “new normal”. You see, as much as everyone thinks my going back to work and/or getting back to some sort of routine that I used to keep, will have things start getting back to normal, there is nothing about my “old life” that I can do today that is “normal”. Because in what version of my old life was scooping shit out of gutters, shoveling dead critters, mowing lawns, killing spiders, fixing fences, driving a Chevy pick-up truck, towing a boat, skippering a boat, packing a gun etc. EVER normal? It wasn’t. This was not my life and there is nothing that I did in my past that will ever be normal again. Not even writing and sharing my thoughts in this blog. Oh and btw – I was pretty happy with my old life and what I considered “normal”. I didn’t ask for this “new life” and “new normal”.

So what is this “new life”, “new normal”, and what is this blog now? I can think of a few things I do want it to be:

1)      Do –honor Ed and keep his memory alive, as well as create his legacy.

2)      Do - live intentionally and with purpose. Still working on this, and right now, getting through each day is the best I can do, but I know there is some purpose for me. Probably related to number 1.

3)      Do – continue to drive sarcoma awareness. NOT just cancer – SARCOMA. And end this disease. Probably related to items 1-2.

4)      Do – inspire. Not sure what to inspire, but I want to use mine and my families experience to inspire others. See items 1-3 :-)

So that’s it for now, but there’s more to come. While Ed is no longer with us, I am still here. My kids are still here. My four legged furry kids are still here :-) It is my job to continue leading this family and our "team" of supporters. While we are no longer “fighting” if you are reading, then you are still here. Living. That’s a great starting place for the “new normal”.

Strength, Courage, Wisdom. Faith, Love and Hope. It’s all I need to get through every day.

Tracey

XOXOXO