For a "care in a crisis" example, last week I had an unexpected hospitalization for a couple days in week 28 of a high risk pregnancy. I'm fine, baby is fine (and still on the inside for now, thankfully!)
When my mom (who lives on my street) didn't answer her phone on the first try, I had half a dozen friends within a few blocks of my house whom I could text to ask if they could come over to watch my kids until my mom could come. It turned out she was just checking out at a nearby store and was able to stop over before anyone else came, but I already had backup offers in case I needed them. I felt so grateful! Then my sister-in-law made dinner for my mom and my husband and my kids and dropped it off to them while I was in the hospital. I got so many kind texts from friends while I was in the hospital, in what could have been a very lonely, stressful time.
Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families...
As we start Lent, I'm so thankful to be set among the family of my friends, even in challenging seasons! I don't know if I'll have unexpected bleeding again in the next several weeks and if I do, they'll likely do a c section that week. This means I'll have a very "trusting in God" Lent and I'll try to hold my plans loosely (very hard for me as a Type A planner!). Building up this walkable neighborhood has taken years and commitment and investment, but in both normal weeks and crisis weeks, near proximity makes it so much easier for us to be there for each other!
God bless you during this period of uncertainty! I had a PROM scare around 33 weeks and had to make some similar calculations about what exactly was going to happen with my kids if I was entering the hospital and not leaving until the baby came out! Luckily, I was cleared to go home in a couple of hours.
Babies are the *obvious* stress test for "Can I drop everything else in the service of [X] and other people will help cover the rest?" but any of us might receive that kind of interruption at any time!
Where to set the distance of the 3 point line in women’s basketball?
The answer is contingent on the desired results. If one wants the women’s game to look more like the men’s game, one would shrink every dimension. The ‘slam dunk’ is common in the men’s game but rare for the women because they both play with a basket at 10 feet above the court. If the basket was at 8 feet for the women, slam dunks would be common. The pace of the women’s game would look more like the men’s game if the overall court dimensions were smaller. But I would not want this. The women’s game is different than the men’s game - and one can enjoy the women’s game if you’re entertained by these differences - as I am. I trained my daughter to play basketball and watching her play was a joy.
Where, if ever, have you had structures that sustained a “cascade of care” in ordinary times, versus as a surge in a crisis?
My son's wife has 2 sisters. Between them they have 11 children (3 of whom are my grandchildren). The families live about a 5-minute drive from one another, and the sisters' parents are about 30 minutes off. So, when care is needed, help is always at hand...
For a "care in a crisis" example, last week I had an unexpected hospitalization for a couple days in week 28 of a high risk pregnancy. I'm fine, baby is fine (and still on the inside for now, thankfully!)
When my mom (who lives on my street) didn't answer her phone on the first try, I had half a dozen friends within a few blocks of my house whom I could text to ask if they could come over to watch my kids until my mom could come. It turned out she was just checking out at a nearby store and was able to stop over before anyone else came, but I already had backup offers in case I needed them. I felt so grateful! Then my sister-in-law made dinner for my mom and my husband and my kids and dropped it off to them while I was in the hospital. I got so many kind texts from friends while I was in the hospital, in what could have been a very lonely, stressful time.
Psalm 68:6 God sets the lonely in families...
As we start Lent, I'm so thankful to be set among the family of my friends, even in challenging seasons! I don't know if I'll have unexpected bleeding again in the next several weeks and if I do, they'll likely do a c section that week. This means I'll have a very "trusting in God" Lent and I'll try to hold my plans loosely (very hard for me as a Type A planner!). Building up this walkable neighborhood has taken years and commitment and investment, but in both normal weeks and crisis weeks, near proximity makes it so much easier for us to be there for each other!
God bless you during this period of uncertainty! I had a PROM scare around 33 weeks and had to make some similar calculations about what exactly was going to happen with my kids if I was entering the hospital and not leaving until the baby came out! Luckily, I was cleared to go home in a couple of hours.
Babies are the *obvious* stress test for "Can I drop everything else in the service of [X] and other people will help cover the rest?" but any of us might receive that kind of interruption at any time!
Where to set the distance of the 3 point line in women’s basketball?
The answer is contingent on the desired results. If one wants the women’s game to look more like the men’s game, one would shrink every dimension. The ‘slam dunk’ is common in the men’s game but rare for the women because they both play with a basket at 10 feet above the court. If the basket was at 8 feet for the women, slam dunks would be common. The pace of the women’s game would look more like the men’s game if the overall court dimensions were smaller. But I would not want this. The women’s game is different than the men’s game - and one can enjoy the women’s game if you’re entertained by these differences - as I am. I trained my daughter to play basketball and watching her play was a joy.
Where, if ever, have you had structures that sustained a “cascade of care” in ordinary times, versus as a surge in a crisis?
My son's wife has 2 sisters. Between them they have 11 children (3 of whom are my grandchildren). The families live about a 5-minute drive from one another, and the sisters' parents are about 30 minutes off. So, when care is needed, help is always at hand...