Today I Reorganized the Playroom

"Of all the things that need to get done around the house, I don't know why you decided to reorganize the playroom today." I didn't need to hear that today. I was looking for a "Wow, it looks amazing." Or, "Great job!" Or even a "Looks nice," would've sufficed. Why did I choose to do this instead of the many other things I could've done today? Because today is January 16th. A year ago today I was sitting in an infusion room, getting acquainted with where I would spend my time once a week for the next 4 months. A year ago today I had drugs pumped into me that would slowly try to deteriorate my body. These drugs would also help to kill my cancer, but these drugs would also tear me apart. A year ago today I closed the door to the life I knew before and headed into unknown territory. A scary adventure awaited me. One that we just had to hope and pray with all that we had, that I would in fact see the light at the end of the tunnel, just as everyone said I would.

So today, I was supposed to take some "me" time to commemorate the fact that I survived. That I am on the other side of this and that I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, although the surroundings are completely different now. Matthew was supposed to be in school, Ryan was going off to daycare, and I had plans for myself for the day. To do something that made me happy. But Matthew ended up home sick today, so my plans changed. Instead, I did get to do something that made me happy....I spent the day with Matthew. I got to take care of him, play with him and spend some time just us. We never get to do that. And during a conversation with Matthew, we realized that his art center that I made for him in the playroom was a mess, the book corner that I created for my kids might look better in a different spot, and Ryan loves a window seat and uses Matthew's art table for it, so since no one uses the Lego table that I made, we decided to make that table into Ryan's window seat. It took me two hours to play around with everything we have in there, clean stuff out, and to reorganize to give both children areas to play.

Yes, we have a lot of toys. Everyone always comments on the amount of toys we have. As adults, most of us go above and beyond when it comes to buying things for our kids. Some people go on very expensive vacations. Some people drive very expensive cars. Some people have houses with many rooms, with rooms they might not even use. So, we have a lot of toys. And this playroom makes for a wonderful family time space, where we all can hang out. So, the teacher in me went to work and gave my own kids their "centers".

When I was done, I felt so proud of myself. I accomplished something today that I've been meaning to do for awhile. Yes, there are other things that could've gotten done around the house, but why couldn't this be one of them? After the year I've been through, the things I've had to do, it's amazing that I was even able to do what I did today. I'm paying for it now, as I'm super sore and exhausted, but it was worth it.

Today, as I sorted through the crayons, and the markers, and all of the art supplies we have, and put games in their new places, and made the reading corner look so comfy and cozy, it took my mind off of the flashbacks that I had from sitting in that chemo chair just a year ago today and it gave me some hope - that with patience and time, I'll be able to move my arms as I once did, and will be able to do the things I have not been able to do for some time.

In a home, there's always something to be done. There's never a time when there's absolutely nothing to do. To me, everything in time, will get done. So yes, today I decided to reorganize the playroom. And I feel really good about it.

It's amazing what can happen in just one year......

What are you surviving?