Life is like a box of chocolates

Well, life has been rather Hellish lately. My mother-in-law, Rose Cook, had a stroke back in May. We thought she was going to die because she had a massive blood clot in her brain & she was completely unresponsive. The doctors told us to say our goodbyes so we did. We went through all the motions of losing someone & then a few hours later another doctor tells us that there's a chance that she will be fine. We knew she did not want to be a vegetable but the doctors insisted that she would be able to walk, talk and be herself again. That is not the case at this time. Her quality of life is completely diminished. She lived in a rehab facility after being in the hospital for a month and they were able to teach her how to walk, eat, use the toilet, and a little bit of her speech has returned but not much. She can answer yes & no questions but that's about it. She's been living at our house & sleeping on our couch for the last month - until last Monday. I had just given her her morning meds (which is like 20 different pills) when she started having a seizure. I thought she was dying so I called the paramedics & they took her to the hospital. They found out that she has an infection in her heart & they say that although she's only 65 years of age she has the body of a 95 year old. That says it all. She has had poor health for the last 5 years that I've known her & at this point its just a matter of time. They want to replace the valves in her heart but they think she's too weak to survive heart surgery so she's getting antibiotics intraveniously. I believe that when she is released from the hospital she will be put in a facility that helps people with medical needs. On top of taking care of Rose we have 3 kids that we're trying to raise properly and we all know how hard that can be. Harley & I both have jobs that can be real demanding to the point where we barely see eachother. We try to make it to church every Sunday. Also, my mother has a home that she pays me to clean weekly and she has a business that I help her run when I have a free moment. Life is just so busy right now. Not to mention that since July I have been attending an outpatient clinic to help with my addiction. I take suboxone on a daily basis which is a medication that blocks opiates from absorbing into my receptors - so if I were to try to take any drugs they wouldn't do anything for me. I can't get high even if I wanted to. I've been doing so well in that department because my cravings to escape have disappeared. Its weird because I've been through more crap in the last few months to last a lifetime yet I wouldn't turn to drugs for any reason whatsoever. Life is hard enough without adding stuff like drugs & alcohol to the situation. I just have to keep taking it a day at a time & remember that things happen for reasons that we may never understand. I believe that life throws us curveballs so that after all is said & done - we are stronger & more knowledgeable afterwards. My mom always taught me that doing what is hard to do will build character & make you better & happier with yourself in the end. She's right. Like Forrest Gump's mom said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get!"