And the winner is…..

(drumroll please)  Charleen!   Congratulations!  Maren will be contacting you with your prize.  As for the rest of the rest of you,  Thanks so much for entering.  The comments were a riot to read, we laughed very hard.  Watch your e-mail for your 20% off coupon for our Etsy shop.  We are adding new stuff to the blog and to the shop  take a look around.   We had a ton of fun with this giveaway and we want to do it again. We will have another giveaway at the end of June.

Now to my post.  About eleven years ago, I made the easiest and hardest decision of my life.  My father-in-law died suddenly and we decided to move my mother-in-law in with our little family.  At that point I became a “parent of a parent”.  It has been one of the hardest and most rewarding things I have done in my life.

My mother-in-law at the time was not even 60.  However, as a young child she had polio accompanied by a fever that reached 107.  She was left with paralysis and some brain damage.  As a result of this, living by herself was not an option.  She does not drive, cannot manage money, and has a few other issues.

So she moved in with us.  At the time I had a 5 year old, a 3 year old and a 2 year old.  My husband and I had only been married about 7 years.  But for whatever reason, I knew she needed to come and live with us.  Right off the bat that meant changes,  we moved her into the master bedroom of the house we were living in at the time.  My husband and I moved to the basement.  We also had to buy a bigger car.  We had to find a doctor for her and some friends.  Luckily we had our church which provided us with women who immediately loved her.

Over the time she has lived with us, my family has learned many things.   We learned to be patient.  She walks slowly due to arthritis and the polio paralysis.  We learned to slow down.  My children have learned compassion, gentleness, and a respect for old people.  They walk next to her, carry her purse, and open doors for her.

We have learned to ask for help.  Sometimes we cannot do it alone.  We have to let others help too.  That is still hard for me but I am learning.  She is good example of letting others help her.

We have learned that she needs to feel important and needed.  She unloads the dishwasher.  She likes to have this job.  She does not want me to take it away from her.  I try to let her do it and not let her see me fix any mistakes.

I have learned to have a sense of humor about it.  Ketchup in the pantry is kind of funny.  I laugh with her and share how I make silly mistakes too.  Laughter is a good medicine.

We have learned to be flexible.  Especially on road trips, it is like having a toddler again, we stop for A LOT of potty breaks.

We have learned to listen to her.  We talk about her life growing up and her life a young mom.  She did not have an easy life and knowing that helps me be kinder.

We have learned sometimes we need a break and so does she.  We go on vacations without her once in a while.  We also send her to visit her sisters and have a vacation from us.

The last thing we have learned is to pray.  I have prayed for strength and patience.  I have expressed gratitude for the blessings of having her in our home.  I have prayed for comfort and for peace.

According to recent studies, there are almost one million households caring for an elderly parent in the United States.  So I know that I am not alone, not even close.   That is comforting and scary at the same time.

This year for her birthday we are having a surprise birthday party for her.  She will be 70 and has never had a party.  We will take lots of pictures, talk and laugh and have a spectacular time.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.