Fragile

Dear Friends & Family,

A few years ago my mother-in-law Barbara gave us a set of dishes that had been passed through the family. The dishes have a white background with periwinkle hydrangeas and green vine-type leaves. My favorite thing about the dishes is that they are not round, square or even rectangular. They are oval; even the bowls are oval. I love the dishes; the color, the shape and most of all the fact that they came from family. A while back I discovered that one of our dinner plates is cracked. You wouldn’t know it unless you turned the plate over and looked for the crack. From the top, the plate looks perfect and strong. But, because I know it is cracked, I handle it carefully. I don’t expose it to extreme hot or cold or put too much weight on it. I never give it to dinner guests; it is my duty to protect it and make sure it remains unbroken.

Much like our fragile dinner plate so are each of our lives, cracked but intact (so far)! This weekend I was reminded that unlike my cracked plate, there is only so much I can do to protect my family from pain.

Curt had a tough weekend physically. He was frustrated with simple tasks and it was wearing on his spirit. We figured out on Sunday that he hadn't been drinking much water the past few days and realized he was dehydrated. By Sunday evening, after drinking lots of water, he was feeling much better!

Cayden & Krystal spent Saturday afternoon visiting her 18 year old brother Jared in the hospital. He had been admitted a week earlier with a bacterial infection in his heart (he had been born with a hole in his heart and had surgery when he was 7) so his heart had always been quite fragile. That afternoon Jared was up and about, eating, talking, and feeling better. Some time in the night he suffered a stroke which led to bleeding in the brain, which led to him being brain dead. Cayden & Krystal spent all day Sunday at the hospital with her parents, meeting with doctors and then waiting for family to come and say goodbye to Jared. Krystal and her parents were holding his hands on Monday as the machines were turned off and he passed away. Please keep Krystal and her family in your prayers.

Cayden & Krystal

Clarissa had a busy weekend; Homecoming game Thursday night, "Romecoming Dance" on Friday night, and a Halloween Party on Saturday night. Along with all of that, she is still trying to figure out where she wants to go to college. 

Romecoming Dance

Corbin had fun carving pumpkins with our neighbor Kelli. He has been spending a lot of time with Mark & Kelli and we are thankful they are willing to open their home and hearts to Corbin. He had a great soccer game on Saturday and then spent the night at his friend's house. Sunday we went to the Fall Festival at his school and then home to hand out candy. He has been doing good managing school work, soccer and football.

Curt & Corbin at the Fall Festival

As for myself; often I feel like I am on the verge of cracking. It is all I can do to hold it all together. After watching Curt physically struggling all day Saturday and then Cayden emotionally struggling
(while remaining strong for Krystal) all day Sunday, and knowing that there was not much I could do for them. I want to protect my family and ease the pain. I pray all day long for strength for each of us. I want to be strong and always positive. Meanwhile we live our lives like the top of the plate (as if there is nothing wrong), there would be nothing to gain from delving into our pain and wearing it for all to see. With strength we will continue to live life to the fullest even though it is so fragile.

With love,

Cindy, Curt, Clarissa, Cayden & Corbin