All throughout history, numbers have been proven to be very important:
3.14 - Pi is the most famous math constant on the planet that is used in many things including weather prediction.
40- This number comes up time and time again the Bible, marking how many years the Israelites wandered, and how many days and nights it rained during Noah's boating expedition.
1- The most famous number that is specifically known for giving superiority over all the rest.
867-5309- Right? Because who hasn't tried to call Jenny once or twice?
In this recent season of my life, it's been the number 4. This is the fourth time I've tried to restart this blog since my wife was pregnant with my youngest son, Keegan. When Rory was little, I was writing entry after entry and in my mind, I didn't see myself ever stopping but now Keegan is almost two and I've written two entries about him. It's been hard though. Truly. It's been a couple of busy and at points very trying years.
Rory had literally just turned 4 and began preschool on the day Keegan was born. It was one of the most amazing and craziest emotionally driven days I'd had up to that point. A few short weeks later when Keegan was four weeks old, we made a decision to evacuate our home when an enormous hurricane blew through Florida. Traveling with a four-year-old, a four week old, and four-pawed companion was quite an interesting trip in 4 mph traffic.
When Keegan was four months old the scariest and probably most spiritually sobering event occurred to our family. It was December 23rd and we had flown to Massachusetts to visit our family. We were staying with Poppa's and Hailmony's house. We'd just come back from dinner and we had just parked in front of the house. I was squeezed in the backseat between the car seats so Poppa could sit upfront while Kim drove. No one should ever try to fit between two car seats. I looked down at Keegan fast asleep, this precious gift given to us by God.
We don't talk about it much, but a year before Keegan was conceived we'd lost a baby before she could be born and after grieving we tried for a year before giving up thinking Rory would be it. Then it happened. Keegan appeared.
As I gazed at this precious child I remember Kim opening the car door to exit and I looked over to the other car seat where Rory was sound asleep as well. Suddenly I felt a huge thud against the side of the car and looked up just in time to see taillights skidding to a stop. I remember squeezing my way past the car seats and out the door. Kim was lying about 15 feet from the car in a slushy puddle. I remembered going into shock in that moment, not knowing what to do. I ran to her expecting terrible injuries as could be expected after being hit by a car being tossed into the air by a car. She was okay though. She fractured one shoulder, obliterated her thumb, severely messed up her other shoulder, but she was okay. God wrapped her tightly in his arms and my belief is that he took the real brunt of the hit for her. How else do you survive that? Truly? If he hadn't and she wouldn't have made it, I'm not sure what I would have done or how I would have kept going.
The aftermath physically and emotionally was taxing. I'm not even going to talk about the doctor and hospital bills and insurance companies because that's just money and that's obnoxious but easy enough to deal with. It's the fact that Kim could not do anything. She couldn't cook, which she loves, she couldn't wash her own hair. She couldn't even hold her baby without help. It was a very trying time. The last thing I felt I had time to do was blog. Although maybe I should have. Getting those things out is important. I mean, the story is still inside, waiting to come out. We kind of shut ourselves out from most people nearby. I'm not sure why, its really the last thing we should have done. The people at our church didn't know how much we were struggling. The people at work didn't know. I mean, Kim looked fine on the outside. But don't we always look good on the outside?
Things have improved since then. Kim, still, after a year and a half struggles with her shoulders and her grip, but she's alive and full of life and we are a family of four! We've got two completely crazy kids that I love more than anything! So even though four has brought some crazy milestones. It's also brought the best! And maybe subconsciously I've always known that four was important. I mean, it's the exact amount of people that you need to play Parcheesi, and that's my favorite game! Additionally, at least for a good 4 x 4 more years, we have exactly the right amount of people to play.
...and I'm going to blog more about! That's a promise!
