08/13/2026
5 years ago, we went through all the Back to School motions with our oldest as he entered 1st grade. It was truly our first experience with Back to School, since his 2020 Covid Kindergarten experience was far from normal. But, we were going through the motions with a micropreemie in a NICU an hour away, having just survived a life-saving surgery on his bowels, and 2 littles at home. I remember very little from that experience, but the pervading thought I remember having and feeling was, “Lord, how am I going to survive this?” “How am I going to get him to school every morning and show up for him and provide him a normal school experience without crumbling from exhaustion and anxiety.”
5 years later, he’s entering middle school, and while I can see the ways these past 5 years have affected him, and sadly sometimes failed him, my prayer is always that they are things that will eventually make him stronger and better because of it all.
A lot can change in 5 years, and this back to school season— all 3 of my big kids helped me as we got ready for back to school. They helped sort their supplies, load them up while I loaded Crew and his wheelchair into the car, and they helped push Crew and supplies all over as we prepare for another school year.
I can’t always see the forest through the trees as we chronically run late for everything or show up unprepared throughout a school year, but I am seeing in real time how they are learning invaluable lessons because of our family situation. They are slowly but surely less ruffled by changes in routine. They are incredibly flexible and can be spontaneous if needed. They accept people for the substance of their character and less for their performance or promptness or self-serving reasons. They understand, maybe even better than I do, that their friends and teachers are going to have a wide range of emotions and moods, and they are now just rolling with it. (They get a lot of real-life practice with me as their mom and honestly Crew and his variety of moods!)
Each year, I want to try harder for them. I want to show up better and more reliably for them. But I want them to see me relying on God, and that it’s where my strength comes from. I want them to see Christ in our life and that we can wake up each morning with Hope, because He is the rudder to our proverbial ship.
I would love and appreciate prayer for this for our family this year! For rest when we need it most, for organization, for increased capacity, for safety as we drive Crew here, there, and everywhere. For our big kids to get what they need from us and that we are able to meet them where they need it. For strength, physically and mentally. Thank you as always for lifting us up, and I pray everyone who comes across this page knows that we are sustained by the Lord in our life, and the reason for our Joy and Gratitude, no matter the circumstances, is Him!
