DIY Box Art to Waylay Anxiety

As you know if you read my post on Monday, my father underwent open heart surgery that day. He was scheduled for an triple bypass and was supposed to go into the operating room at 11:30 Oklahoma time, which was 12:30 my time. I had made plans to go kayaking with a friend before I found out about the operation. I debated about cancelling, but I decided that it would be better for me to go. Kayaking would be a good way to take my mind off of my worries. We were out on the water for about three hours – kayaking and swimming.

There is nothing like exercise in nature to make you forget to be sad. My father was never far from my thoughts, but I felt like I was able to send him much more positive thoughts from the river than I would have from home.

We saw a lot of birds out there. I wish that I had brought a camera, but all I had was my phone which takes terrible photos. While we were still on the river, I received a message from my father’s wife that his surgery was postponed until 1:45 or 2:45 my time. That just prolonged my anxiety.

I returned home after 4:00. Douglas was still at work. I started pacing around the house, trying to decide what to do with myself. I decided to work on the art for the bathroom. I had been collecting boxes for a couple of years now. Douglas bought the Burma Shave brush last year. He is always telling me that the Burma shave advertisements remind him of his childhood in Indiana. Apparently the billboards were everywhere. I already had the frame that I used for that box.

My sister gave me a bar of soap in the “Save Water” box. I like the saying. I used the soap years ago, but I held onto the box thinking that I could do something with it someday. Finally, the box with the Chinese writing was from the medicine that Douglas had to get me from the pharmacy in China in the middle of the night. He is proud of himself that he was able to communicate so well with the pharmacist. I kept the box to remember that special moment in our lives.

At 4:48 I received the first update on my father. They had harvested the vein from his leg and were starting on the one in his chest. His vitals were good and he was doing well. I stopped to pray. It was hard to continue working, but I knew that there was nothing more that I could do for my dad. I had purchased three small frames from Bed, Bath and Beyond the week before. They cost $4.99 each, but I had three 20% off coupons, so they cost me less than $15, even with tax.

I carefully trimmed the excess off with a box cutter and put the boxes in the frames. Originally, I planned to buy bigger frames and mats, but I am glad that I went with the smaller boxes. I used the pictures that came with the frames and turned them around so that the boxes would have white borders.

Now it was time to hang the frames. I laid them out on the dining room table but ended up flipping them. Everything was ready, but I could not find my hammer or small nails. Douglas was at a meeting, and I called him and picked a fight with him. I know that it was the stress that was causing the fight, but I just could not help myself. Finally, I found the hammer and decided to just use the big nails. I did not want to wait.

At 6:46 I received another update. He was still in surgery, but all was well. I would get another update in an hour or so. That felt like forever. In the meantime, I had most of the art up. The photograph of the woman is the page of an Anne Geddes calendar that I framed in college. It has hung in most of my apartments since 1995.

Opposite the toilet I hung another Anne Geddes picture. I used to have four of her photos in there, but I decided to keep only those two. It is an inside joke, because one of Douglas’ friends joked that I had them placed where the men could appreciate the woman while using the toilet, while the women could enjoy the view of the man.

Finally, I hung the picture of the bathing women that my sister gave me for Christmas 2011. Eventually it will go into the medicine cabinet that I am going to hang in that spot, but since it might be a while before that happens, I decided to just go ahead and hang it for now.

At 8:36 I finally heard that my dad was out of surgery and doing well. I could finally breathe again, and I gave a prayer of thanks. My final update for the night was at 10:35. My sister was in the room with him, but he was still unconscious. Yesterday morning I heard that he had gained consciousness and had even sat in a chair for a short period. At last at 3:46 that afternoon, I was able to talk to him. It was such a relief to know that he was alright.

I really appreciate all of you that prayed, sent positive thoughts and energy and checked in to make sure that I was doing alright. It was a stressful time, but at least it ended well. And now I have the art hung in my bathroom as well. I also have a new addition to the family, but I will tell you more about him on Friday.

Happy Homemaking!