Lemonade

My husband and I were in the long term care business- we owned and operated a nursing facility. We had grown a very successful and reputable company. We were often referred to as the “Chip and Joanna Gaines” of the nursing home industry. But we were tired. We were worn by regulatory requirements, working around the clock, and loaded with heavy responsibility. We were small and hands on but you couldn’t tell from the outside. Despite all the weight, we were in the process of growing our company when the pandemic hit. Despite our aggressive efforts, we went through an outbreak in the early days of the pandemic. New territory. Scared. Scarce supplies. No available testing. No directions. My husband moved into our facility for nearly 2 months to lead the fight. I stayed at home with our 3 young children, including a 1 yr old. My staffing director had quit, as did many other frontline workers that were too scared to continue. We didn’t have that option. From home, I took over staffing...a nightmare. I also helped find supplies, paying triple the cost for essentials we routinely ordered. My husband would drive by to see us from a distance. It was a sad time for us. It was a traumatic time. We vowed that if God would just get us through, we wouldn’t be in that situation ever again. Fast forward a few months later, we got past the outbreak. We sold our company. We moved. We are trying to figure out the next chapter. When life gives you lemons, you press on and make your best lemonade! That intro was written in 2021 after our covid impact. Fast forward to 2023.....cancer hits our young family. Here we are again.....trying to make each day count....continuing to make lemonade. No one feels our story like we do.....we get plenty of prayers and platitudes which is all one really can expect.