the sweet babysitter

So I'm not really supposed to be lifting my brother, because I am pregnant, but unfortunately, my mother isn't supposed to lift him, and neither is my dad, really, all for health reasons. And Carl doesn't get home until 7:30 now, so James would be stuck in his chair--which he hates--for something like 4 hours if I didn't lift him.

I used to be able to lift him alone, and actually I could even carry him across the room by myself as recently as October. But then everything happened and now I'm not supposed to and also I'm so tired now I can't work out for an hour a day, so oh well.

Anyway, when I get home, the first thing I do is take off my shoes and then the babysitter and I move James from his wheelchair to his armchair, which he likes way better. It's hard for me because I haven't been working out, and I'm tired, and now I have kind of a belly bump in the way, and it's shifted my center of gravity, and also my ankles are super dumb and so sometimes they roll while I'm lifting him and then he almost drops and I have to wear an ankle brace for a few days.

Today, the sweet babysitter asked if she could lift my brother's torso. It's the harder part to lift. One person typically takes James's legs and the other person his torso, and the torso is hard because he resists there and he's heavier there. You need more control and more strength to do it. I always take his top when I'm lifting with a babysitter because our babysitters are in middle or high school and I feel bad for them. Also I guess I think I must be stronger than they are, which is manifestly ridiculous because we're all like 5'4 here, for crying out loud.

But yeah. I was feeling so discouraged this afternoon as I drove up to the house, and as I entered I asked myself how I could stand to do this for ANOTHER day, and I thought about just parking and taking an hour-long walk around the lake. But then I decided I had to be a grown-up and go take care of my sick brother.

When the babysitter offered to lift his torso, I almost cried.

After we moved him, I wanted to hug her.

Honestly, she did it kind of wrong. He ended up twisted and sideways in his chair, and I had to go back and readjust him and so on, but it didn't matter. That one act of service was just the most thrilling moment of the day. It reminded me of my visiting teacher saving the day that one time. It was so wonderful.

Song playing in the background: