When life gives you lemons....you have a skype date.
The good news is Richa is so much more active in America! The bad news is Richa is so much more active in America! Welcome to day four of a overworked swollen limb that won't fit into her prosthetic. Thank God my thighs were made for deadlifts and my daughter only weighs 80 pounds. No leg means immobility, which means no school. The type A uptight control freak teacher in me is internally freeeeeeaking out. Breath Legan....breath. Tons of people go on to have successful careers with the reading level of a first grader (insert sarcasm).
My plan for the day was good. No in fact it was great. Not only was it right, but it was righteous. School is a good thing! She loves learning, she loves being around her new friends, and she needs exposure to both right now. Right? In addition to our regular Monday schedule, we also woke up planning to talk to her best friends via skype. We limit skyping with the Hyderabad girls to once a month for a couple reasons. We want to protect Richa and we want to protect her friends. I can't imagine how hard it would be to see my best friend in her new home, while I'm praying for one a world away. So once a month we set up a time to skype. Due to the time difference it only works for us to chat before Richa goes to school in the morning. Well there in lies the problem. My daughter is many wonderful things, but an early riser she is not. Usually by the time she gets downstairs and is in front of the computer she has 15 minutes or so to talk. I don't know about other women, but for me 15 minutes is never enough time to talk to my friends. Needless to say by 7:45 we're dragging her away from the computer while she's aching for more time.
Since she was home from school today, she was given the gift of a whole hour to visit. She loved it. She was kissing the dogs and on a giddy high. Well in the words of Axyl Rose....every rose has it's thorn. One hour later she's in tears with no explanation as to what's wrong. Is she internally bleeding? Has her appendix exploded? Is she planning her escape? Does she want me to die? What is wrong?? I can only assume she's missing her former life, but she could be upset about her couch condition today as well. It definitely isn't helping things. It's hard to let kids grieve. It's heart retching to watch them mourn a loss and not be able to fix it. There may come a time when the skype dates hurt more than they help and if that's the case we'll end them, but for now I'm thankful to see her show a range of emotion. The sadness she is feeling isn't going to just dissipate, so I'm relieved to see it released in a healthy way.
When I'm upset I want to talk....to anyone. So of course I'm blessed with a daughter that gets upset and does the exact opposite. I should have called that one. Richa completely shuts down. No words....just big crocodile tears that slowly roll down her beautiful brown cheeks while she stares at me with frightened eyes. I am completely helpless while praying for God to give me the gift of telepathy. Since I can't give her a glass of wine (it works with most of my friends), I give her tissues, permission to miss her Hyderabad family, and the reassurance that no matter how sad she feels I'm here for her. Always.