Love, Kindess, and Grace

All in all it was 60 days of hospital life. We actually found a rhythm to our life. N spent nights at the hospital. I would take H to school and then relieve N so he could go to work. Friends delivered H to the hospital after kindergarten or at the end of the day. We'd have dinner together and then I'd take H home to bed.

We filled the windowsills of Lou's room with potted bulbs. We covered her crib in a rainbow silk. Slowly the room filled with knitting, magazines, and books. It was a time of great fear, but we made it our loving nest.


March brought storm after storm. Once I arrived home in the evening to find no power and a foot of snow. Our neighbors had been watching and met us at the door. They had shoveled and raked the roof. They brought flashlights and tucked us into bed leaving a thermos of coffee.

Every neighbor on our street provided us with a meal. Every parent in H's class brought us a meal. A friend who worked at the hospital stopped in EVERY morning with coffee and a smile. At one point Lou stopped eating. He then arrived EVERY morning with a thermos of organic oatmeal loaded with cream and maple syrup. She ate.

My internet friends coordinated mailings of who knows how many hundreds of little gifts for both girls. We probably ended up with around 45 stuffed animals!

The organization I directed gave me paid leave. The Board took up a collection for us. The museum community of Vermont sent emails and flowers. Our little girl had touched many of these folks as she had been bundled about to lots of museums while I worked.

N's sister drove 3 hours each way twice on several weekends to take H home with her. N's parents flew up. My mother sat through both long surgeries with us and braved several snowstorms to help. My father called every single day. When Lou was admitted for the third time, we flew up N's mother from Florida again. N and I just needed more mothering.


It's funny, but I had never had to really accept help before. I had never had to just say "thank you" and know that I could never reciprocate. We had never been on the receiving end of some much love, kindness, and grace. It sustained us through the long days and nights in our little room.