Most of you know through facebook, but I've been obnoxiously sick this week... it started with a sniffly cold, and on Wednesday turned into the stomach flu... I was up a whole night miserable, and quarantined myself in my room the next day (thanks to a joint effort by my mom, Josh and brother John!), in an attempt to prevent my wild little indians from getting "the throwups". No one else got it, and by Friday I was functional enough to get the bare minimum accomplished.
I already told you about my wonderful weekend, so this story resumes on Monday. While my immune system was down with the flu, the cold I had started with decided to wreak havoc on my sinuses...
Last night was my parenting class/mom night out, and I was hoping to come home refreshed enough to enjoy a bit of an evening with my husband (who has been patiently waiting for my personality to return...). The ladies prayed over my sinuses, and I had high hopes for a quick recovery. However, by the time I got home I had the most painful sinus pressure I've ever had on my right cheek bone. I tried a cold rag on my face, Josh rubbed my sinuses, I took a hot bath... nothing worked. Discouraged, we went to bed (he decided to have a sleepover with the boys so I could have uninterrupted sleep- sweet, sweet man).
It turned out that it was a good thing Josh was upstairs... I tossed and turned and over and over woke up sobbing with such pain in my cheekbone. I was mad that God hadn't fixed it when I asked, and frustrated over how hard it has been to pour my heart into the people I love while so sick... in my tears I told God that He NEEDED to fix my pain so that I could get back to the people He has entrusted me with. I ended up sitting up most of the night on the couch, holding a mug of hot tea under my nose. The only good thing about the night was how much of Ruby's movement I got to feel while sitting still for so long, in the dark. I crashed a little after 5:00, and the boys all came bouncing down the stairs a little before 7. I slapped together a tuna sandwich for my man, kissed him goodbye, and called my doctor. This must not go on, I thought.
Since I was calling before the office was open, I knew I would have to wait for a call back from the on-call doctor. I explained to the operator that I wanted to ask the doctor what medicine would be safe to take for a sinus infection during pregnancy... the doctor didn't call me back, so an hour later I called again. THIS MUST NOT GO ON! I thought again... The operator paged the doctor, but got right back on the line and told me that since the office would be opening in 40 minutes, that the doctor wanted me to call the office once it was open, instead. (I only need 5 minutes of her time, I thought...) I waited, called, and was told the nurse would call me back... 40 minutes later I called again- THIS MUST NOT GO ON!- ringing through my head... The nurse I talked to decided to call in a prescription for me rather than advising something I might already have in my medicine cabinet (rats, I wanted something like, 3 hours ago...). I packed up my little indians and headed to the pharmacy. All the while, grumbling about needing to leave my pajamas and my house. My prescription was ready, and we rushed back to the car- water bottle in hand- to take that first dose of sanity-saving medicine! I strapped the boys in, and climbed in the drivers' seat... only to struggle to open the medicine bottle. Finally I plunked down the bottle, let sleep deprivation and pain have their way, and cried.
"Are you sad, Mommy?"
"yes, I am... I'm sad because I feel so sick, and I can't get the medicine bottle open, and I just want to feel better so I can take better care of you boys..."
"I'm sorry Mommy"
"Thank you, sweet boy..."
They had lots of questions about why the bottle wouldn't open and why I was sick, etc, but finally I got the bottle open and we were on our way back home. It didn't take very long for the medicine to kick in, and I was beginning to feel functional again with in an hour or two. I sent a quick text of encouragement to my man that I may, in fact, feel like myself again soon, and sent a quick prayer of thanks to my Creator for modern medicine.
The rest of our day went really well. The boys enjoyed playing together all by themselves, and I was able to catch up on some normal tasks like dishes and laundry.
At bedtime tonight, after Odyssey, I was rocking Henry in the dark and Jonathan stepped out to get a drink of water. A minute later he peeked his head in the door, "Mommy, can I talk to you out here about God?" (YES.) I laid Henry down, and went out to the landing. He had placed two little chairs together, and parked himself in one of them.
"Mommy? What does God do when we're scared?"
We talked about God's love and protection...
"Mommy? Is God-like- RULLY big?"
Absolutely, little boy- more than we know.
We wrapped up our conversation, my heart soaring, and I tucked him into bed. God is so full of grace. I've known that He fills in the gaps when we are lacking, and I've been praying fervently during this season of sickness that He would fill in the gaps for my boys each day, especially in their hearts, when I don't have the strength to do much more than the physical tasks that day. Today I got to see it. In the middle of my pain, lack of sleep, and the ensuing heightened emotions, God was whispering in my almost-4 year old boy's heart.
I know little brother is watching, and I am too... What a mighty God we serve!
I already told you about my wonderful weekend, so this story resumes on Monday. While my immune system was down with the flu, the cold I had started with decided to wreak havoc on my sinuses...
Last night was my parenting class/mom night out, and I was hoping to come home refreshed enough to enjoy a bit of an evening with my husband (who has been patiently waiting for my personality to return...). The ladies prayed over my sinuses, and I had high hopes for a quick recovery. However, by the time I got home I had the most painful sinus pressure I've ever had on my right cheek bone. I tried a cold rag on my face, Josh rubbed my sinuses, I took a hot bath... nothing worked. Discouraged, we went to bed (he decided to have a sleepover with the boys so I could have uninterrupted sleep- sweet, sweet man).
It turned out that it was a good thing Josh was upstairs... I tossed and turned and over and over woke up sobbing with such pain in my cheekbone. I was mad that God hadn't fixed it when I asked, and frustrated over how hard it has been to pour my heart into the people I love while so sick... in my tears I told God that He NEEDED to fix my pain so that I could get back to the people He has entrusted me with. I ended up sitting up most of the night on the couch, holding a mug of hot tea under my nose. The only good thing about the night was how much of Ruby's movement I got to feel while sitting still for so long, in the dark. I crashed a little after 5:00, and the boys all came bouncing down the stairs a little before 7. I slapped together a tuna sandwich for my man, kissed him goodbye, and called my doctor. This must not go on, I thought.
Since I was calling before the office was open, I knew I would have to wait for a call back from the on-call doctor. I explained to the operator that I wanted to ask the doctor what medicine would be safe to take for a sinus infection during pregnancy... the doctor didn't call me back, so an hour later I called again. THIS MUST NOT GO ON! I thought again... The operator paged the doctor, but got right back on the line and told me that since the office would be opening in 40 minutes, that the doctor wanted me to call the office once it was open, instead. (I only need 5 minutes of her time, I thought...) I waited, called, and was told the nurse would call me back... 40 minutes later I called again- THIS MUST NOT GO ON!- ringing through my head... The nurse I talked to decided to call in a prescription for me rather than advising something I might already have in my medicine cabinet (rats, I wanted something like, 3 hours ago...). I packed up my little indians and headed to the pharmacy. All the while, grumbling about needing to leave my pajamas and my house. My prescription was ready, and we rushed back to the car- water bottle in hand- to take that first dose of sanity-saving medicine! I strapped the boys in, and climbed in the drivers' seat... only to struggle to open the medicine bottle. Finally I plunked down the bottle, let sleep deprivation and pain have their way, and cried.
"Are you sad, Mommy?"
"yes, I am... I'm sad because I feel so sick, and I can't get the medicine bottle open, and I just want to feel better so I can take better care of you boys..."
"I'm sorry Mommy"
"Thank you, sweet boy..."
They had lots of questions about why the bottle wouldn't open and why I was sick, etc, but finally I got the bottle open and we were on our way back home. It didn't take very long for the medicine to kick in, and I was beginning to feel functional again with in an hour or two. I sent a quick text of encouragement to my man that I may, in fact, feel like myself again soon, and sent a quick prayer of thanks to my Creator for modern medicine.
The rest of our day went really well. The boys enjoyed playing together all by themselves, and I was able to catch up on some normal tasks like dishes and laundry.
At bedtime tonight, after Odyssey, I was rocking Henry in the dark and Jonathan stepped out to get a drink of water. A minute later he peeked his head in the door, "Mommy, can I talk to you out here about God?" (YES.) I laid Henry down, and went out to the landing. He had placed two little chairs together, and parked himself in one of them.
"Mommy? What does God do when we're scared?"
We talked about God's love and protection...
"Mommy? Is God-like- RULLY big?"
Absolutely, little boy- more than we know.
We wrapped up our conversation, my heart soaring, and I tucked him into bed. God is so full of grace. I've known that He fills in the gaps when we are lacking, and I've been praying fervently during this season of sickness that He would fill in the gaps for my boys each day, especially in their hearts, when I don't have the strength to do much more than the physical tasks that day. Today I got to see it. In the middle of my pain, lack of sleep, and the ensuing heightened emotions, God was whispering in my almost-4 year old boy's heart.
I know little brother is watching, and I am too... What a mighty God we serve!
Touching story :) But, to be fair, you WEREN'T the only one to get sick. I did too :P
ReplyDeleteoh, no! Did you get the stomach flu from me??
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