I’ll be honest: This week has kind of sucked. But there have been good moments here and there and I don’t want to lose track of them amidst the negatives. These are three of the beautiful things from the past week:

1. I have heard from nearly everyone I know. Emails and texts, calls and voicemails have poured in from all over the place. My folks have let me vent in my least flattering way. Rudi’s parents have been equally supportive, checking in on him daily. Closer to home, Rudi has been inundated with sweets and reading material and a dear sleepy sheep (courtesy of wee Caroline) who provides much-needed white noise during the night and had so many visitors his first day after surgery that we had to ask people to give us a couple days before returning. John and Nicole have demanded I eat a meal with them this weekend to guarantee I’m not living on cereal (I haven’t been, but it was a valid concern). Sarah, Julia, and Michael helped me get the Christmas lights off the tree and the tree out the door, which would have been nightmarish on my own. And my coworker Sarah brought in a bag of Rudi’s favorite recovery candy and two bags of M&M’s for me today. I sometimes harass Rudi about his gregarious nature and his overly broad definition of “friend,” but I (gladly) may have to eat my own words in this case.

2. Seeing Rudi in the recovery room. Surgery had taken longer than expected (not longer than the doctor had expected, but he maybe hadn’t explained that part to me as clearly as I needed to hear it), so when I finally got to see him, looking relatively good all things considered, it was like every birthday and Christmas rolled into one.

3. The night after the surgery, I was exhausted. Just bone tired. And I knew it. So I brushed my teeth instead of making a cup of tea and went to bed instead of sitting down on the couch. I was asleep just after 11, which is saying something.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world this week?