One year ago at this time of night, we had just found out when I needed to be at the hospital to have my right thyroid lobectomy. I was trying really hard not to freak out. I was super nervous. I don't know how I was able to sleep that night. And, it wasn't really fun recovering from it either. I was miserable for such a long time afterwards.

With time, I have gained some good insight about the ordeal and good things to know for the future.

Surgery teams really do care about you and want you to be comfortable. I felt like they were wheeling me to the operation room forever. When I got into it, it was scary, but the surgical techs, nurses, and whoever else was in the room when I went in really took good care to make sure I was ok. As they were putting leads and monitors on, they kept up a nice friendly conversation to help me not think about what was happening. Even as they were putting me under, the nurse anesthetist had me talking about how Christmas was, about the weather, etc. I didn't even realize that I was going out.

Taking time to recover is really important. I always follow Mom's tradition of taking down the Christmas tree on New Year's Day. It had been four days since surgery, so I felt like I could comfortably help with the Christmas clean up. It was just taking light ornaments off the tree. Well, that was too much, and I felt so much worse later that afternoon and the next day. If I would have just hung out relaxed on the couch, I probably would have felt better a few days sooner.

I have some really awesome friends here. We had at least three people offer to watch Russell and Meghan while I was having surgery. One didn't even have kids, and two of them hardly know the kiddos. My good friend came over the first day Ben went back to school after break and spent the whole morning playing with the kids, she got lunch ready for them, and she even brought us dinner and a treat for family night. That same day another one of my friends came over on her lunch break simply to put Meghan in her crib for her afternoon nap because I couldn't lift over 5 pounds. And, the next day the other primary counselor texted me in the morning saying she was bringing dinner and would take the kids to play at her house for a day (on top of her own three kids who weren't in school and the three others who would come home after school!). I was feeling fine by then, so I told her not to worry (her sister got sick and she ended up watching her two kids instead).

Lastly, there are many people who will go out of their way to help others who need even just the littlest help. Like my friend who came over to put Meghan in her crib. I felt so awkward asking her, but I knew I couldn't do it. I had to give up my pride and let others serve me. That taught me what true Christlike love and service really is. Not a single one of them felt burdened. And, they all came happily with big smiles and many offers of future help if I needed it.

So, even though there were some good lessons learned, I still am really happy I am not having surgery this year.