Still Sleeping?

Emma, my three-month-old is still asleep at 7:30 in the morning. That is something quite unheard of. She usually wakes between 4:30 and 6 A.M. to eat and then goes back to sleep for another hour or two. But this morning she has yet to get up, a testament to the busy, slightly exhaustive schedule we have had for the past two days. While things at the house are calming down somewhat because the majority of my boxes are unpacked, things in Greenville have come to a climax as my father-in-law was slowly woken up yesterday after being kept asleep for three whole days after his surgery. A portion of his lung was removed, along with the built-up, hardening fluid surrounding and pressing down on it so that he was unable to breath from that particular lung. He is now in ICU. And I must add, the last bed in ICU, so we must walk past every other patient in there, wondering what their story is and if they will be getting better also, like we know and pray my father-in-law should.
We drove to Greenville and back (with the kids and all) yesterday and the day before that. My husband has driven back and forth I don't know how many times now. When I saw my father-in-law in the state in which I saw him, with tubes in and out of his nose and mouth, unable to breath on his own, I realized why there had been so much tension between my husband and I in the past two weeks. Here I was at the house, frustrated because things weren't getting done as quickly as I wanted them to and because my living room has been half painted for about a week, and all the while my husband, who has already lost his mother prematurely, is worried to death that his father will make it through okay. I had no idea of the severity of the situation until I saw him as he was these past two days. It was quite overwhelming and I came to realize that I wasn't being the wife I needed to be for my husband.
So forgive me if my blogs fail to be all about fitness and what we should be eating this week, but sometimes (and yes, I'm saying this) there are things that come before our physical health, because mental and emotional health is just as important. My husband jokes that sometimes my stress levels are so high that while my body may be physically ready to live to see 100, I won't ever because I'll have heart attack way before then!
Stressful and intense situations shouldn't be an excuse to throw all our good habits out the window however. It wasn't for me. I packed fruit, almonds, and sandwiches for our drive and stay yesterday. When everyone else asked what I wanted on my burger I reminded them that I don't typically eat beef and got something else. I sipped on a decaf tea instead of any of the other, more unhealthy options that were available. I wasn't, however, able to get in a typical workout in these past few days. That's okay. The brisk walk from the hotel to the hospital and back every two hours was good aerobic exercise (and we discovered which family member was more out-of-breath and out-of-shape that they would like to be!).
On the drive home last night I commented to my husband, "I wish I didn't need sleep. I'd be able to get a lot more done." But since we all do need sleep and since I cannot make any more hours to add to our days we must do all that we can. We must not make excuses to get ourselves out of exercise or a healthy meal, but we must, with a clear conscience, do all that we can to ensure that our bodies and minds are well taken care of, and then be satisfied. And rest.