As I shared last January, we Toftnesses named 2020 the year to do hard things (…oops). And that declaration was invoked more often than I could’ve imagined.
Between Shepherd and the pandemic, 2020 changed the trajectory of our family.
Recap of Jan-Mar ‘20: the kids started public school after being homeschooled their whole lives. It was beautiful. Then roughly 2 months after they started, everyone was sent home. Once home we had a couple weeks of rogue learning in which Moe Willems made (temporary and abstract) artists out of every one of us- including Andrew! After 2 weeks of official Distance Learning, Shepherd Jonny Goshen was born.
Three months after Shepherd came, I went on a 33-mile sojourn on the Superior Hiking Trail- honestly everyone needs that grueling, gritty, gloriously spiritual encounter. It strengthened me, body and soul, for what would happen the next weekend.
Andrew and I went for a quick mt. bike ride in Cuyuna one fateful Sunday afternoon in August, when I rounded a corner too low, too fast and fell, bouncing my body off the red dirt. I left the woods on a stretcher and was sent to a level one trauma center in St. Paul with a lateral compression pelvic fracture (broke the ol’ pelvis in 3 places). When I saw my doctor for a two-week check he gave strict orders: no weight at all on my left leg for at least 10 weeks. Andrew had just read Isaiah 40:28-29 which talks about the Creator of the ends of the earth not growing tired or weary, giving strength to the weary and increasing the power of the weak. That pushed me through the mental struggle, along with the self-sacrifice of all who cared for us. We had people babysitting Shepherd and me every day, bringing food, doing laundry. There were letters and gifts and cards and gift cards in the mail from friends and strangers. It was overwhelming in the best way.
Then at my 12 week visit I was told I was a starfish (their recovery after trauma is bionic, like they actually grow new legs) and was given the ‘all clear’ to do anything I wanted. Just like that.
Looking back on the last 1.5 years (Sept 2019-present) we have undergone challenges that led to changes for our family, and as hard things continued to present themselves, our theme evolved into “What’s one thing I can do to improve my [hard] situation?” Sometimes improving your situation means physically moving, sometimes it means mentally moving. And sometimes it means leaning on someone else’s strength when you’re weary.
I hope to share more here about life in the shop and our process- we’ve seriously got some incredible things in the hopper- but just wanted to pop in and give you this personal update.
“Attitude is the difference between an ordeal and an adventure.”