the middle of january, my birthday to be exact, emmy's eye started getting goopy and crusty. with a trip to the pediatrician the next day, we were given eyedrops and told she had the 'itis... conjunctivitis. ever tried putting eyedrops in a 9 month old's eyes before? yeah. not fun.
that same week, i started feeling under the weather. i knew i was fighting something but as a mom, a homemaker, a wife and a part time school counselor, who has time to be sick? i pushed through the week, determined to fight it. friday afternoon i put the girls down for their naps and as if to say "i'm not listening to you" to my lurking sickness, cooked up a storm in my kitchen instead of sleeping on the couch. by the time nick got home that night, the sickness had beat me. i had teeth-chattering chills, a fever, cough, headache, runny nose, the whole nine yards. to bed i went, and stayed there quite honestly for the next three or four days. literally couldn't stay awake. finally went to the dr and was told i had the flu.
wednesday of that week, bella woke up with a fever. she laid around pretty much motion-less and developed a bad, hacking cough. emmy also came down with a bad cough and runny nose. after a few days of them being sick, one sunday i finally scheduled them for an afternoon appointment with their pediatrician who happened to be on call that weekend. we packed up the girls and not even five minutes from our house, nick had to pull the car over and threw up continuously on the side of the road. true story.
my mom saved the day and met me at the doctor's office. bella was diagnosed with the flu, and emmy a virus. got girls home and in bed for their naps. upon waking up, i noticed bella's eye was mysteriously crusty. over the next few hours, it was so goopy i knew she had come down with conjunctivitis. luckily, we still had emmy's eyedrops leftover from her bout with it a week ago. what's harder than getting eyedrops into a 9 month old's eyes? getting said eyedrops into a 2 1/2 year old's eyes. yeah. not fun. oh, and did i forget to mention that same day emmy woke up from her nap with goopy eyes all over again? so, now we have the flu, conjunctivitis and a stomach bug all descending on our little household all at once.
the girls continued to get better; nick went back to work the next day. i began feeling better and then started feeling worse all over again; sore throat, congested nose and hacking cough. by wednesday i had lost my voice and thursday morning i woke up and could barely swallow. i had help from a dear family friend who graciously watched the girls for me so i could drag myself to the doctor's office... again. a week after i was diagnosed with the flu, i was told i had strep throat. at that point, really, all i could do was laugh.
it's definitely been a rough couple of weeks for us and through periods of tears and feeling incredibly beaten down, god has shown up and carried us through it. it's not easy for me to ask for help, or to allow nick to serve me... and god has definitely broken me of that through this season of sickness. my husband has waited on me, taken the housework on his shoulders, cared for the girls and cooked a whole lot. friends and family have helped with watching the girls, bringing us meals and leaving sweet care packages on our doorstep.
thank you, jesus, for reminding me that i don't have to have it all together. i don't have to be afraid to ask for help, or to allow others to take care of me. i need that. we all need that.
579. snuggle time with my sick girls.
580. allowing myself to be still.
581. pink gerbera daisies from my man.
582. ginger ale & ice.
583. heaping piles of blankets. warm and cozy.
584. sisters bonding in the sunlight.
586. top knots and leopard jeans.
587. drinking tea and watching downton abbey with the mr.
588. emmy signing "touchdown!" in time for the superbowl.
589. popsicles. even when you're thirty two.
590. hearing your two year old say "mama, i've missed you" after being in bed sick for a few days. heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time.
591. daddy snuggles.
592. surprise deliveries of orange juice, flowers, magazines and cough drops on our front porch.
593. being loved into humility.
so many blessings, even in life's discouraging seasons. very thankful for all of these things.
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