grace in ridiculousness

(photo credit: Jenna. Because 5-year-old photography is a thing.)

I got a steroid injection in my wrist today. Eventually, it should help with a bunch of issues I’ve had recently. Initially, though… there’s a numbing agent and a lot of extra fluid placed in an area that’s already compressed.

Translation: my right hand (the dominant one) is basically useless for a couple days.

The problems with this are plentiful and obvious. (Have you ever tried to buckle a carseat or change a diaper with only your non-dominant hand and dominant pinky?) (Has anyone ever written the words “dominant pinky” before?)

But, as I try to do when I’m paying attention, I’d like to look for the grace with you.

Yesterday, we talked a bit about how the novelty of travel forces me to be more present and notice ordinary lovely things around me that I otherwise miss.

Today, I realize that compensating for a temporarily out-of-commission hand has basically the same effect.

When was the last time I paid any attention at all to the diapering process? I have no idea. I barely even notice it anymore. (Which is how the baby and toddler wind up wearing each other’s diapers periodically. Whatever.) But I’m paying attention today! And that’s grace. There are gifts that I’ve been missing while I change my babies’ diapers… smiles and kicks that I haven’t seen because I’m working from muscle memory and my brain is not engaged.

And that’s how my whole day is going. Dishes, picking up my kids, opening doors, opening sippy cups, anything that requires, I don’t know, my hands… I’m now paying attention to all of it.

Honestly? Being present in every task that I normally rely on muscle memory to accomplish is exhausting.

I’m glad it’s a temporary thing.

But even so, it’s really important to me to pay attention and receive the gifts that He gives, even (especially) on days where things feel a little ridiculous and I can’t easily brush my teeth.

Signing off now, because typing is hard.

What gifts do you find on challenging days?

This post is part of the write31days challenge… I’m trying to post every day in October. Or, you know, lots of days in October. The rest of the posts can be found here.

Published by robininalaska

Robin Chapman is a part-time writer, editor, and birth photographer and a full-time imperfect mama, wife, Jesus follower, and normalizer of failure. She’s trying hard to learn how to do this motherhood thing in a way that doesn’t land the whole family in intensive therapy. She has a heart for helping other mamas buried in the little years with hope, humor, and solidarity. You can find her hiding out in the bathroom with an iced dirty chai, writing and editing and making spreadsheets for KindredMom.com where she is a cheerleader for mamas, or online looking for grace in her mundane and weird life. She lives in Fairbanks, Alaska with her four delightful (crazy) kids—some homeschooled, some public schooled, some too young for school at all—and her ridiculously good looking husband, Andrew. View more posts