The last few weeks

This month has been so busy and so emotionally charged that I am exhausted.  None of the photos that follow are in order but it doesn't really matter.  

I took Eli in for his first post-op the Monday after his surgery and the surgeon said that Eli had developed a fever, which probably explained the fever.  Eli was put on two steroids and an antibiotic.  All I can really say about those two weeks of MTC was that Eli was miserable.  He got up every morning, showered, dressed, attended classes all day with very few breaks until 9:30 every night.  I am so impressed with his devotion even while fighting so much pain.  His second post-op appointment went much better.  His nasal cavity was raw and tender but the doctor said he was healing really well and there was no scar tissue.  He said that Eli could go to the MTC if he wanted and he wouldn't hold Eli back but he did want Eli to have one ENT appointment in Provo before heading to Japan.  We came home from that appointment and Eli finished up his classes and packed.

Felicity started school the same day as Eli's final appointment.  I was sad that I couldn't go to school with her that first morning because I had to be in Denver with Eli and had to leave before her school started.  Mike and Piper helped get her ready and took her to school.  On the first day the parents and kids all meet on the field and they find their classes and teachers and get hugs and cheers from parents before they all walk in as a class.  Felicity was nervous and didn't have a great report at the end of the day but she has since decided that she loves her teacher and class.  Because we packed up and headed to Provo the following day, she missed the next three days of the first week of school and Piper did as well.  Her grade didn't start until Tuesday so she didn't even go to school until Friday when we got back from Provo.  I thought it might have been a bigger deal that they missed three days of the first week but it hasn't seemed to phased the girls much.  Piper seems happy to be in 8th grade and seems to like her teachers and be happy to be back with friends.  She gets herself up at 6 AM to get ready and when I get up at 6:30 she is cheerful and mostly ready to leave.  

The drive to Provo was good.  Not much to say about it.  We didn't leave until about 12:30 because Mike haHe d to teach a class in the morning so we didn't get to our VRBO until 11:30 at night.  We ran some errands the next morning, picked up Will, and dropped Eli off.  It was sad.  I mostly held it together until we drove away.  Walking into our home without him set me off again.  There are just so many reminders of him and it is quiet and flat with him gone.  He provided so much calm, humor, fun, good conversations, etc and I feel his absence deeply.  

We talked to him on Saturday, his P-day, and he isn't doing well.  His headache on Saturday was severe and he was really struggling.  The temple didn't bring him much peace and he just looked weary and so tired.  He said he is sleeping well but the pain is hard to endure. I think more than the pain, he is struggling with an impression he had that the headaches wouldn't magically go away for awhile.  He is trying to accept that but is really discouraged.  His Japanese is going well and he is loving his district, even if he calls the Sisters "fart woman".  His teacher is already making Eli speak in only Japanese and that is hard for him, especially when someone asks him to explain something and he doesn't know Japanese enough to explain it to them in Japanese.  He is in a dorm room directly next to his really good friend from our ward, Matthew Murray.  Matthew has a difficult companion so his mom said having Eli next door is saving Matthew.  They go to each others rooms at night and chat and decompress from the day.  They are also in the same branch so they get to see each other for church and also for nightly prayer that is held on each floor.  He has seen Abbi, his girlfriend, but they try to avoid each other.  She did ask for, and get permission, for him to give her a blessing on Saturday so he and his companion went to give her the blessing.  She is having a hard time adjusting and learning the language. 

The drive home was also non-eventful.  We brought Will home with us so he could have his dentist appointment and then he wanted to fly back home so he was really only here for two days.  We stopped in Grand Junction the first night and in the morning found a post office before heading home.  Eli had forgotten his ministerial certificate in the car and he needs that to be a missionary in Japan.

A few more notes:  The end of the summer break was good but also filled with taking care of Eli.  I did my best to get the girls to and from last play dates.  Filly had a lemonade stand with her friends and they each earned about $45.  My ward is very generous.  And so is our neighborhood.  I just needed to send a quick message in a group chat and half of the ward showed up to support her.  She and her friends also went bowling and got ice cream.  Piper and her friends also had some end of summer hangouts.  They made vision boards, went for bike rides, got frozen yogurt.  

I went and got another opinion about my teeth and discovered that the endodontist truly freaked us out for no reason.  There are, in fact, cracks but they are tiny and not worrisome to the other dentist.  He does not recommend that I get crowns on any more teeth until they are needed.  He also doesn't agree that I should get Invisalign like my normal dentist suggested.  He did an x-ray and said that the root canal was done poorly and some "material" has leaked out of the canal and is touching the bone, too close to a large nerve and if it gets to the nerve I'll be in trouble.  He is contacting the endodontist to figure out what happened and he will get in contact with me. I'm obviously not thrilled about that but grateful I don't need the extent of work that the endodontist said I needed.  I don't really understand how he could give me such faulty information.  Anyway, I will, eventually need to get more root canals in the future because of the cracks but not anytime soon.  Phew.  So grateful that we didn't just believe the endodontist and go spend thousands of dollars to fix things that weren't that big of a deal right now.  

Finally, Mike gets promoted on Monday of next week.  His family comes in town to celebrate with him and we will throw an open house here.  I'm stressed about the timing and having to host four additional people here and put on a big party here as well but I am also happy to celebrate Mike and his accomplishments.  Piper gets five teeth pulled days before the ceremony so the timing isn't great but I hope she recovers smoothly and that we can manage her recovery along with a big celebration.  

Not my favorite month but we are managing.