Honey, we ARE "those people"

We have been them before.  Several times actually.  "Those people".

"Those people" in the store who are carrying on a private conversation with friends a little too loud as if they are the only people shopping today.  "Those people" in the restaurant who are mortified because they "never send anything back" but this one time it was just too bad.  "Those people", who totally understand why your infant is crying on the red eye, but you will catch rolling their eyes and making comments the minute you look away.  "Those people" who are pompous enough to think their dogs are so well-behaved and wonderful they should be welcome wherever they go.

We know we are.  Actually, in some cases we are pretty much fine with it.  We can be "those people".

Something has happened.  We are "those people" in a different way.  A way that perhaps makes us uncomfortable enough it is humbling.  I mean, get down on your hands and knees humbling.

We are "Those People Who Need to Accept Help".

Charity.

We have a need for organizations that people volunteer for.

We need physical support.  Our family has had to take over our lives and make sure they still continue in our absence.  This situation has yanked us from the real world to the land of strict bed rest and hospital food in a matter of minutes.  You can never really plan a birth, but you can at least have an idea of when it may happen.  Take away seven weeks of your life and it throws things off just a bit.  We need someone to live at our house, take care of our dogs, mow the lawn, finish the nursery, accept packages and put together baby stuff, clean out our kitchen, make room for our new family member, check the mail, the list goes on.  Thank God for my parents for doing all of this and more.  Thank God for Colin's family, who is always so close by, for picking up the pieces that my parents can't and making this a seamless transition for us.  Thank God for our jobs, which have given us enough grace to remain employed yet completely checked out for the past week.

We need emotional support.  This has been a terrifying experience that we were unprepared for.  Yes, we have been surrounded by incredible light and positivity, silver linings, and blessings.  However, we were not prepared for the roller coaster ride that we were embarking on.  No one knows how they will handle the physical and emotional stress of a medical emergency until they are faced with it head on.  The hospital automatically provided help in the form of a social worker who was ready and willing to sit down and just listen and empathize with us when we needed to talk about how this situation is affecting our lives.  Our families also had the chance to talk and ask questions, which was a wonderful opportunity for all of us to just communicate.  We also have the benefit of the March of Dimes, an organization that strives for the healthy birth of every baby.  That seemed like such a "duh" idea to me before I guess.  Of course we should strive for every baby to be born healthy.  However, 1 in 10 babies is born premature.  That statistic alone tells me that there is a strong need for an organization to protect and support healthy births.  That's right, we did not have a healthy birth.  We have to admit that and deal with that fact.

We need special consideration when it comes to food and shelter.  Countless people have offered to provide meals for us and we actually need this.  The idea of taking the time to cook a nutritious meal is a foreign concept right now.  We have been offered a room at the Ronald McDonald House here at the hospital and we actually need this.  Until now, I did not have a concrete idea of who stays at this place.  People like us do.  People who have a need to be at the hospital most of the day and a place to sleep that is very close by so they can be here at the drop of a hat.  People who need to nurse their preterm baby every three hours.  When Colin checked in and came back to our suite to report what we have available next door he had a hard time not feeling guilty.  "What about people who REALLY need the room?" he asked.

"Honey, we are those people".

And here is why that is just fine by me: