something had to give

I can't believe how long it's been since I last wrote!  You would think I had given up blogging for Lent.  But no, I have not been blogging for one simple reason--I have had absolutely no brain with which to write.  It has been one CRAZY Spring, and it feels like we have been going from one unusual thing to the next, and I'm feeling like I've been using all my personal resources just to keep the family rollercoaster from falling off its track.  Blogging usually takes the extra I have--and for the past so many weeks, I had no extra to give!

So let me just glance back at the calendar and see where I left off. . .

--Oh, right.  Valentine's weekend we spent at the home of good friends; my dear "Rosa" had travelled to go be with her father earlier that week as he recovered from surgery, and a few days later her husband mentioned to my Dear Husband at the weekly men's group at church that he wished he could go be with her. So DH came home that night and told me we should help make it happen. Of course!  (And isn't he sweet?) So we stayed up at their positively palatial home (you know, compared with ours) from Sat to Monday after dinner, taking care of their little boy "Hecho" (6 months younger than Smiley, so they are best buds and even look like brothers) and their girl "Mini-Rosa" (same age as Happy, so they are buds too).

A couple of my kids had been  mildly coughing all week, but nothing to be concerned about.  And we learned that Hecho was also mildly sick with a cough, which ironically made me relieved--some bug was going around, and it sure looked like both our families were already exposed, so I would not have to feel guilty about us passing sick germs to our friends.  : )

Sat. as the day wore on I felt myself coming down with whatever it was hard, and by evening was so sick--the whole cough, runny nose/congested, fever, body ache thing.  I slept for about 2 hours that night, alternating between waking whenever I heard children stirring, and not being able to breathe so I would wake up feeling like I was choking. Sunday morning of course I stayed home from church, and I kept the boys home too (they were buds in their running yellow snot too--ew), and let Sunny stay home too, since she said she did not feel great.  I felt horrible,  but the boys played so nicely and so I just hung out in Rosa's sunny old living room, reading House Beautiful magazines and sipping lots of tea.   A nice quiet morning. . .

Until Sunny started throwing up.  And once the need came upon her so quickly she did not make it to the bathroom. . . but by the end of the day I just had to laugh.  In that one day I had cleaned up vomit, poop and blood, (thank you, various children) all while so sick I could barely drag myself around.  I'm pretty sure there's a medal for that, for valour under seige or something. ; )

But overall the whole weekend, I was seriously SO aware of all my blessings.  In the midst of so much going wrong, there was so much to be thankful for!

--Only one kid really sick, and she was old enough to pretty much take care of herself.  And she was also old enough to be low-maintenance, not fussing or needing extra attention, so she and I just hung out on opposite ends of the sofa all weekend, reading and exchanging caring looks.

--Their enclosed porch-feeling living room has outdoor carpet over linoleum.  SO much easier to clean than regular carpet.  Enough said.

--Rosa had been a little concerned that Hecho would have difficulty sleeping, as I guess he often does.  And he slept like a champion both nights we were there.

--While at their house we had a bedroom.  With a door. 

Which leads to the most fabulous blessing that would not have happened without either: on Monday morning, after two nights of terrible, awful, no good, very bad sleep, all the kids woke up at a normal sevenish hour, and were so happy quietly playing with one another that DH and I slept until 10:45.  I had heard them off and on, but was so exhausted I was miraculously able to sleep, and so when I finally roused enough to look at the time, I could not believe it.  I never, ever sleep in that late--and have never gotten to sleep that late when I have been with kids!  That was a HUGE blessing.  Probably made the difference in my being able to turn the corner on the illness, because while I was still very sick on Monday, I felt like I was on the mend.

--DH did not get sick.  DH is not the kind of father who swoops in and takes care of making food and cleaning up in the kitchen, so I was still doing that, but I can't stress enough how thankful I was for the psychological factor of knowing he was up and available when I needed him.  I just don't even want to think about how different it would have all felt if he had been sick in bed and I had felt like I was on my own.

--And he was so sweet to bring home Mexican food after church!  In fact, in trying to make sure we had enough, he ended up bringing enough food to last us for at least two meals, which was then two meals I did not have to think about.  Whoo-hoo!

--All the kids played so nicely, with almost no bickering all weekend.  Such a blessing!  All of the children were overall so well mannered and easy to care for, even Rosa's with their parents gone and everything different.  I mean, that can be hard on kids, esp. if they are not feeling good, but all the kids adapted to all the changes beautifully. 

--I really did have a kind of vacation while there.  I was still making meals and cleaning up the kitchen, making sure things were picked up and also trying to keep fixtures sanitized so we might possibly not spread the germs around quite as much (ok, pretty funny when you think of how the kids were touching all the same toys. . . but the toilet and sink and doorhandles were obviously danger zones, so I tried to keep them clean).  But other than that. . . Rosa's husband had left the house very tidy, and it was such a pleasant space to be in, and since it was not mine I did not feel that little guilt sense a housewife feels when she is sick that she should be up and doing things.  There was no laundry waiting, no cluttered kitchen counter staring accusingly at me whenever I walked by, no piles of papers taunting me. . . and no computer, so I even had a cyber break!  Let's face it--I tend to sit in front of the computer too much, so having several days without really made everything so much more restful. 

All in all, a weekend filled so much more with blessings than otherwise!  Oh, and the best part--Rosa calling during a break from helping care for her dad (who was recovering well, I believe) to tell me how happy she had been to see her husband arrive.  Did I mention her dad lives in Hawaii?!!  And so she said that unexpected getaway was like a second honeymoon! 

So, really, what a GREAT weekend!  I mean it!

The rest of the catch-up to be continued later. . .