Room With a View

Rewind 10 days. Jared comes home from work, early. He NEVER does this. Like...never. So I knew something was up and he quickly came down with a horrid case of the flu. I didn't see him for 3 days, pretty much. He was holed up in our bedroom, hunkered down with blankets, and a throw-up bowl.

Sunday, the Super Bowl. I took my children to my brother's house for a little family get-together to get us out of the house. As I left his house, I could feel my chest starting to have and my lungs were starting to wheeze. By 9pm, I was sick. Really sick. For 3 days, I didn't get out of my bed. Jared was starting to mend, so he was able to be "Mom" for the 3 days I was in bed. My room with a view? This is what it was, when my eyes were open.
Jared took Sariah to preschool, and Malia (said preschool teacher) noticed Jared bringing Sariah. He doesn't do this, so she knew I must be down. She brought us dinner, and another friend brought us dinner the next night. This was heaven-sent. The worry of how I was going to feed my family was gone - a small miracle in itself.

Bronchitis and the flu...together. Not a stable marriage of sickness, if you ask me. It was horrid. I don't think I have ever been so sick in my entire life. I will spare you the details, but I hope to never experience that again. Thankfully, the children were spared and didn't get sick.

But now I had another daunting task: laundry and disinfecting the house. As I was pondering how I was going to tackle these two things, my mom called. She didn't ask, didn't suggest, she simply stated that she was on her way over to help me clean the house. She cleaned the kitchen, bathrooms, living room, and even swept the back porch.
I love my mom - she is always thinking of other people. She's constantly going up to Phoenix to spend time with a friend who is sick. She's walking with a friend who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's. She serves, and serves, and serves without a thought about herself, or a repayment of any kind. She literally saved me when she said she would come clean - no words have ever sounded so beautiful!

Then on Saturday night, James started in with a cold. Green snot, and a good cough. Sunday ensued with a fever, more snot (if that's even possible!) and all snuggles. He slept yesterday from 4:30 pm until 9:30am this morning STRAIGHT THROUGH. When he's not sleeping, he's doing this:

This experience has made me reflect upon a few things.

1. Good health. Myself and my family are very healthy, and I usually take it for granted. When something comes through and wipes us out like this, I am instantly reminded of our great health and how lucky we are.

2. Good health insurance. Monday landed Jared and I in urgent care, because we were so sick. We are so fortunate that Jared has a stable job, with very good health insurance.

3. Good friends - if you ever want free food, just post on Facebook that you're sick! I seriously had 10 meal offers within an hour of putting it on Facebook. Friends who live down the street, friends who are within 10 minutes of each other, friends who allow Sariah to join preschool for a morning without payment, friends who don't think twice about doubling their dinner so you can have some. Sometimes, that's all you need - dinner for your family so you don't have to think about it.

4. Family. My sister found somewhere else for Emerson to go for that week and offered several times to help with whatever she could. My mom came to clean. Enough said!

5. My husband. Without a hesitation, he got up every morning and closed the door so I could sleep. He even got upset at me one day because I was out of bed and wanting to help. All he wanted was for me to go back to bed so I could get well! I love him.

I am still coughing and wheezing, but the infection is pretty much gone. What an experience this was. It was good to reflect upon the experience, but I hope it doesn't come back!