Taking Care of the Girls

I walked up to my room tonight, 10:19pm, and noticed my lamp beside my quiet time chair in the corner of my room was still lit. My bible and journal lay open on the chair with my blue blanket strewn over the arm of the chair.

It was many hours ago when I was interrupted by the girls this morning, both feeling so bad. This nasty virus that Mack conquered at the beginning of last week had now gotten each of them. I left my quiet time to tend to their needs. Ice water and ibuprofen. Warm showers, then blankets and pillows on the couch. Then off to disinfect their room and their bathroom and every door knob in our home.

And then there was Mack—feeling great and full of energy. Confused by his having to do math while the girls “just lay on the couch.”
How quickly he forgot what he was doing last week.

There were eye drops to be given, crackers and grapes to be served. Chicken noodle soup to be prepared.

I tried all day long to be so patient and kind and loving. Mostly it came just fine, but then around 5:30 I was feeling tired and done with all the servant business. There’s a reason why a nurse works 12 hour shifts…anymore and she is liable to throw the meds in the patient’s general direction. So, here I am looking around for relief and then remember that Josh has a 6:00pm meeting and then another “quick” meeting at Starbucks to give someone something.

8:30pm rolls around, and we are all over the sickness now. Ruby comes to the kitchen for some more medicine and she starts to cry and says, “I am so sorry I am sick. This is getting old. Thank you for taking care of me.”
I get teary-eyed, too. Such a sweet little girl. I hugged her and told her that there is no where else I would want to be than right here helping her get to feeling better.

I remember Ruby as a toddler very vividly. When she was sick she did NOT like medicine. She would cry and wail and refuse to open her mouth. Though she will drink (slowly) ibuprofen, she will put up a fight about anything else I ask her to take. The eye drops were an ordeal every. single. time. today.

Molly does pretty good with the medicine, but she is much better at taking care of others when they are sick than at being the one taken care of. She would ask Mack to do something for her and if he didn’t understand her the first time—-watch out! I had to remind her several times to take it easy on us…we were trying to be helpful and caring…she should be nice to us.

  
I am thankful for being able to be here to take care of the girls today and serve them in all the little ways they requested….not the least of which was multiple episodes of “I Love Lucy.”

I am also thankful for Josh who told me to go take a shower while he read out loud to the kids at bedtime. He worked hard all day, even closed a nice deal today and then came home to read LITTLE BRITCHES to the kiddos and get them all tucked into bed. Be still my heart.

But off and on today I was tempted to think how the kids being sick kind of gets our schedule off track as far as school and stuff. But that is not true at all. Will we have to do some extra work here and there? Yes. But I will not be “behind.” This is my schedule! This is my school and my kids. What is most important is that I loved them well today…whatever today brought our way. Did I do it perfectly? Unfortunately, not. But I tried! I hugged and served and cooked and cleaned and rubbed backs and gave medicine and fluffed pillows and brought books and crayons and watched “I Love Lucy.”

Though the day wasn’t what I had envisioned and planned for, I know all of God’s ways are perfect. He was with me all day and loved through me. What more could I possibly ask for?