Parents.

Today is the first day of my 30 day blogging challenge that I really don't want to write anything.

One of the reasons I challenged myself to do this thing was sort of an accountability thing.  I figured that, if I had to write something interesting every day, I would have to do and think interesting things every day.  Every day, as I made progress toward my goals (numerous though they have become), I would talk about the challenges or thoughts I had along the way. 

So far, it's worked okay.

But today?  Today was kind of boring.  Yesterday was kind of boring, too.  I've put my life on hold for a few days to take care of something a lot more important. 

As I've alluded to in the past few posts, my sister has been in the hospital.  She's just finished the last surgery in a series of three to deal with a condition that sort of popped up a few years ago.  It's been a long year.

I am immeasurably impressed by her attitude through all of this.  Her condition has not been glamorous, but she has maintained an light attitude and a perseverant spirit.  She's an amazing girl, to go through three majors surgeries, take a year off school, and move to a strange town as a 20 year old.  

I'm also increasingly aware of my parents' example of sacrifice and love.  I feel like I'm putting my life on hold for three or four days because my blog posts won't be as interesting?  Psh.  My parents have been walking with my sister every step of the way.  It was when my mom went down to South Carolina to take care of my sister that her doctor first suggested to move to Ann Arbor for University of Michigan hospital care.  My dad and mom essentially lived at the hospital for an entire month as options were being weighed.  They would go to work, go to the hospital, eat at the hospital, go home to walk the dogs, go back to entertain my sister for a few hours, then, one of them would stay with my sister and one would go back to take care of the dogs some more.  They did this for an entire month.  A month!

In the months since, they have taken work off to be with my sister for treatments and surgeries countless times.  Right now, while I'm taking care of the dogs at home, my mom is sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital chair so that my sister doesn't have to be alone.

There is an awful, selfish part of me that says, "I want to go home so I can keep trying to live an interesting life.  I want to skip out on taking care of my sister.  I want to forget that all of this is going on and go back to Grand Rapids as soon as I can."  But as I continue to look toward my parents' love as an example for my life, my marriage, and my eventual child-rearing, a more selfless part of me is stirred. 

Hopefully that part wins the day.  I want to someday contribute to the legacy my parents are creating.