meaning of family

Twice now, I’ve been told by family members that I am an inspiration to them.  That my continued patience and hard work has been inspiring.  How else would I actually deal with this?  What did they expect?  Of course I will keep working.  Of course I will keep doing what I need to do to make myself better than I was the day before.  I want my movement back.  I want my normal back.  Did they expect me to curl up in a ball and cry?  (Granted there have been a few of those days…but my friends have picked me up, dusted me off, and snapped me back to reality.)  Yes it is a time commitment.  Yes it is reprioritizing what’s important.  Yes it is difficult.  I don’t know what other option there would be though.  This is how I face life.  Bull by horns, what I need to do is what I do. 

My mother hurt her knee two months ago.  She’s still dealing with limited movement and having to do PT exercises.  And yes, she’s tired of it.  But she told me that I am her inspiration as I am 11 months since surgery…give or take a little and I’m still willing to put the work in.  I’m still making the time to do pool work.  I’m still positive and finding the time to rest my body while still working, spending time with family, spending time with friends, and doing what I want to.  She said if you can do it the therapy work this long, I can keep going.  Would I have ever thought that I would be an inspiration to my own mother?  That this is experience would give her inspiration?  That the stress and frustration of all that has happened in the last year would lead to inspiration?  Never. 

Getting a text message late one night saying “You’re an inspiration to me and I don’t know if I ever told you.  Your attitude in your recovery alone gives me something to aspire to!” was soul shocking and emotional for me.  While I’m close with my family, these are not normal kinds of things we say.  I didn’t know how to respond.  That text struck me as an affirmation for the attitude and work I’ve put in.  It gave me the confidence that he would always have my back.  That if I needed him, he’d be there.  Still shocking to think that my family thinks that about each other. 

How do I let them know how much I needed them and they were there?  How do I say thank you without it being awkward and uncomfortable?  I lean on my friends more than on my family or so I thought.  This shows me that I lean on my family more than I realized and we are important to each other.