The Misadventures of a Homeschooling Mom of Five!

Plus the 5 Valuable Lessons I Learned Along the Way!

Wouldn't it figure that just after writing about a “Day in the Life of a Homeschool Mom of Five“ I would be thrown into the most “anything-but-typical” week of my life? Ha!

Well, that is exactly what happened. If you were following along with my adventure on Facebook or Instagram, then you know that I ended up in Spain TOTALLY unexpected! Yep! You got that right. SPAIN!

My Crazy Misadventure in Spain

To catch you all up on how I ended up in Spain, basically, my mom was in Spain hiking the famous Camino de Santiago. Her plan was to tackle the Camino in six weeks. She wanted to take her time and enjoy the journey. However, about 8 days into her adventure she got unexpectedly sick–really sick. She spent one week in the hospital in Logrono, Spain, waiting to find out if she would be okay or if she'd need surgery. That week was a roller coaster ride of emotions. One doctor one day saying she'd need surgery immediately, the next day's doctor saying he thought she'd be just fine. About 10 days into her hospital stay, she got even more sick and the doctor said she'd be in surgery by morning–that's when the text came.

“I'm ready for you to come.”

I got the text at 7am on Friday morning and was leaving for the airport by 1pm. I've never packed that fast in my life.

I spent a week with her in Spain. Miraculously, she didn't end up in surgery. She was in good spirits and relatively without much pain during my time there. We were able to get her cleared to fly and back home to northern California. She basically went from the hospital in Spain to the hospital in the States. We are still waiting to see what the next course of action will be for my mom.

My week in Spain was far from your typical trip to Europe. I did very little sight seeing. In fact, my husband pointed out that I came home with more pictures of food than I did other things. Ha! My mom was on liquids almost my whole time with her, so she asked me to show her pictures of all the food I was getting to enjoy. {Really, she asked. I wasn't being mean.} Since my week was much slower paced than most European vacations, the Lord used it to teach me some invaluable lessons.

The Invaluable Lessons I Learned

1. Family is Important–& Such a Gift! 
   It's amazing the sacrifices you are willing to make in an emergency situation for those you love. Needless to say walking away from my life as a mom of five on a moments notice was crazy! Amazingly enough, we had just finished our homeschool year ahead of schedule, our co-op was done, and I had no speaking engagements. So, with the incredible help of my husband and my in-laws I was able to just take off–for a whole week. What a gift and a sacrifice on their part. During my time in Spain, the one thing that really struck me was the amazing sense of family I felt there. Not my own, but theirs. I don't remember seeing any patient walking the halls without a family member by their side. In fact, it was hard to get my mom the very basic things that most hospitals here would provide, like shampoo and toothpaste, because over there they expected families to take care of the needs of their family member in the hospital. I loved walking the streets on my way to and from my hotel and seeing grandmas (abuelas) pushing strollers and families playing at the park and walking along the streets. My mom and I both fell in love with the family of the patient in the room next door to her. Her husband acted as a translator for my mom when the doctors came in. I joked that he was my hero as I learned all about his amazing life and all he had accomplished. I was even invited over for lunch at their home one day and got to enjoy their awesome tuna and potato soup (so yummy). One of the daughters even took me to the mall to get some “futbol” jerseys for my boys. They were so wonderful to us and we are so grateful for them!  [Tweet “Family is important–worldwide. We often take our family for granted with the busyness of life.”]
2. We Are All On Our Own Unique “Camino!”
   The Camino de Santiago is known as being a spiritual journey. Pilgrims (as they call those who undertake the Camino) from around the world come and walk this well-worn path as part of a spiritual awakening. As Christians, we know that we don't need a long trek to be with the Lord and learn from Him. Yet, what a sweet reminder is was to hear the other patients in the halls of the little hospital in Spain encourage my mom as she did her laps around the corridor several times a day, “Esta en su camino”–You are on your walk. “Camino” is walk in Spanish. I was so heartbroken for my mom to miss out on her grand adventure on the Camino, yet God still had her on a “camino”–one vastly different than she had planned. That's how it is for us, too.  God has all of us on our own “camino.” There are twists and unexpected turns, but as long as we keep our eyes on Him He will guide the way. [Tweet “God has all of us on our own “camino.””]
3. The Body of Christ is Vast!
   If there was one take away from the entire trip, this is it! God is everywhere. I think it's so easy to get stuck in an Elijah way of thinking and feel that we are the only Christians in the world (1 Kings 19:9, 10). The Body of Christ is so far reaching–and there is so much unity in the Lord no matter what part of the world you live in. We became instant friends with some Christians who came to visit my mom when she was first in the hospital. My aunt and uncle happened to know someone who knew a pastor in the town my mom's hospital was in. He had a few members of his congregation come and visit my mom. These amazing new friends came to pick me up from the hospital, made sure I had a blow-up mattress for my first few nights, took me out for tapas–and visited everyday! Their love for the Lord shined through them! I had felt so helpless when my mom was first in the hospital, but knowing that she had believers coming to fellowship with her was such a comfort and a blessing. We actually had another local church come and visit with my mom as well. I found them on the internet and asked for them to look in on her. Seeing Christ's Church in action ministered to my heart as they ministered to my mom. 
   
4. Prayer is Powerful!
   Prayer changes everything! We should never forget this! It was incredible to see the comments come in on Facebook, in texts, and in emails when we first let people know about my mom's situation. It was amazing to see prayer after prayer answered. It's so easy to take for granted the power of prayer. There is no prayer request too small that the Lord can't handle. He may give us more than we can handle on our own, but He is always with us and gives us strength when our own fails. All that to say, thank you all for your countless prayers![Tweet “There is no prayer request too small that the Lord can't handle.”]
5. I Can Actually Pack Without a List!
   Ha! Okay, this one is not as deep as the other ones. But I did learn something about myself, I can pack fast. Many of you know, I'm a list girl. I have packing lists for about every trip my family takes. Car rides. Airplane rides. To the snow. To the beach. I love my lists. But I didn't have any for last minute, crazy long flight for international travel. Most people spend months planning for trips like this…or at least they have a few weeks, but not me. I had hours. When my mom was first admitted to the hospital I started jotting down a few thoughts I had of things I should be sure to grab. However, my mom kept saying she was fine and didn't want any of us to come. So, I didn't let myself fully list build. I did however send an email to my sweet friend, Crystal Paine, who had just returned from an international flight, asking her if she had a packing list. She did! She had two packing lists that she had used when traveling on two different international flights. They were so helpful. I did notice that most of the things on her list were on my normal packing lists–but the “golden” tip was to bring a neck pillow, ear plugs, and a sleep mask!! I never would have thought of those. I knew I would need lots of snacks in case I was stuck at the hospital–and for the flight. I also brought along my essential oils, both for my mom and for myself. I loved having them with me on the flight, especially when the woman behind me on the plane started coughing. I used several oils to give my mom foot rubs while I sat with her in the hospital room, too. Who said applying oils to the bottoms of your feet had to be quick? 🙂

{Here's Crystal's POST with her airplane packing list & her POST on what she packed for another international trip. Both are excellent resources.}

The End of the Story…

Well, there isn't an end to the story–yet. As I mentioned, we are still in waiting mode. However, there is one other notable thing to mention. My mom started this adventure as her “Journey with Jesus.” She held steadfast to Him through all the ups and downs of all the uncertainty. She kept her faith and her sense of humor all the way.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. –Psalm 46:1

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