As if everything we went through during the month of April wasn’t enough, the May flowers were in full bloom around our house – and my brother’s house. This post is part of a two part series, so in case you missed what went on around here, please check out the post “April Showers Bring May Flowers” . I would love to say that the month of May was less dramatic than April, but it most definitely wasn’t – in fact it was absolutely more dramatic. 

More Loss & Prom Festivities 

The very first week of May was absolutely huge for us! Seriously, it was a tough week to get through. First, I want to talk about May Day – May 1st. We had so incredibly much going on this day, and honestly it wasn’t supposed to play out the way it did. It was supposed to be a much easier day. 

The morning of May 1st, I woke up really excited. It was the day of my son’s first ever High School Prom. He was only a sophomore this year, so he wasn’t actually supposed to be able to go. One of his closest friends, who was a senior, asked him to go to prom with her. It was so incredibly sweet, and they have been close ever since we moved here. After I got out of the shower, and was ready to start getting dressed for photos I got a really disturbing phone call. One that would change the dynamic of our family forever. 

It was my brother on the other end of the phone. He called to tell me that our sister in law, a very close friend and family member had passed away earlier that morning. I immediately broke down, and started crying. I had a very complicated relationship with her, but I never in my life wanted her gone. I had a really hard time putting myself together in order to get ready for prom photos. It had to be done, though. I had to push through the emotions, get my dress on, and get my face on. After all, it was my son’s first ever prom, and the photos turned out beautifully. 

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Family Arrives & More Prom Festivities

Just as we had Grand March for Cassidy’s prom a few weeks earlier, we also had Grand March for Khalub’s prom. After photos we had a little bit of time to go grocery shopping in the next town over before we had to be at the grand march. My dad was also on his way into town so he could be here for my birthday, Mother’s Day, Ariana’s birthday, graduation and her grad party. Whew! See, I told you we had a lot going on this month! As we were arriving at the grocery store, I figured I would give my dad a call and see how his trip was coming along. As soon as he answered the phone, he answered with “I’M HERE!!!” Wait, what!? My dad wasn’t supposed to be here until the next day! 

Welp, as you can imagine this cut our shopping trip pretty short. We still went in to pick up a few things, and get some of his favorite foods but we couldn’t get everything. Luckily, my brother’s wife and my niece Ariana stopped by our house and just so happened to find my dad here. He had some company while he was waiting for us. That at least was a relief.  

We got back from our short trip just in time to get my dad all settled, and get ready for Grand March. The one great thing that came out of all of this hectic chaotic mess is that my dad got to witness Khalub’s very first Grand March and all dressed up for prom, and Ariana’s very last Grand March and her all dressed up for prom. It was a beautiful thing, all of the kids looked fabulous, and once again we took some more awesome photos. 

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Wrapping Up May Day, and Moving Onto My Birthday

All of this, my friends, happened in one short 24 hour period. Just this day alone was emotionally exhausting. I was still in shock about my sister, still in shock about my son going to prom, my nieces’ very last prom, and my dad getting here unexpectedly a day early. I think that is enough emotional turmoil for just about anybody. I went home, and drank some wine. I wish I could say that I got to sleep in the next day, and get the chance to process all of this, but I couldn’t. Sunday, May 2nd we were having my birthday party! After we got home from Grand March, we still had preparations to make. 

For my birthday party we had such a great day planned. We started the day with my all time favorite breakfast – fruit salad! I didn’t get a chance to take a photo, because we ate it all. Shortly after, we had my nieces and nephews coming over. We also had Cassidy’s boyfriend and his brother over for the day. It was such a nice day! A couple other’s made their way over as well, including Cassidy’s grandpa! My dad being there made it all the better. For dinner we had my favorite kabobs, with shrimp scampi, and rice. It was delightful! 

Ready for Some Down Time

After a very long day, and weekend I was exhausted, and I was ready for some down time. As you can imagine, that didn’t really happen, though. I realize that this is a very late post, but I am just now starting to get some down time and process all of this. This is all I have time for, at the moment. I will be writing again, very soon, about the many other adventures we had in the month of May. 

How have you all been? Have you faced any unexpected challenges over the past few months? I would love to hear from you, and how you are navigating through. I am still figuring all of this out, and I am doing much better now. After a couple breakdowns, sleepless nights, and lots of tears.

Feature Photo by Polina Kovaleva from Pexels