Late Tuesday evening my son came down (rather suddenly and forcefully) with some kind of stomach bug. Thankfully it was a brief one, so not to worry. He's already feeling all better and is back to school today. But for Tuesday night and part of yesterday he was feeling pretty bad.
I mentioned before how caring and supportive my daughter is when anyone is sick or hurt. She loves to be helpful, and jumps at any opportunity. So of course when her brother got sick she was right there ready.
As he was headed to bed Tuesday night he asked for some water, and of course little sister jumped up, grabbed his water bottle with an excited "I can get it!" and ran to fill it up for him.
When she came back with the water she also gave him a really sweet, gentle hug. He returned it with a weak (but sincere) thank you and a hug of his own. And I complemented her for being so nice and helping take care of her brother. She turned to me and said with a shrug, "Anything to help a brother out."
Neither one of them understood why that made me laugh so hard. :)
I've never seen the movie Snakes on a Plane. (Never felt a need to, actually.) But there is one relatively well-known and sometimes-quoted scene that I am familiar with - and chances are some of you are too, considering that it's sometimes called "THE line" from that movie. It's the moment when Sam Jackson's character decides that enough is enough, and he's finally "had it!" (Said in the signature Sam Jackson style, of course.)
I think we've all probably been there a time or two. Granted, it probably didn't have anything to do with snakes, and we probably didn't give a speech and then shoot out an airplane window... but we've all had those moments when we finally have to say "enough is enough!"
I reached that moment a little while ago. Because it has been, to put it mildly, kind of a rough couple of months. (You might have already guessed that, since we're almost to the end of the month and this is only my second post. Following not many more than that last month.) Sadly, the majority of my existence since just before Christmas has been all about taking care of sick people, so I just haven't had much time for anything else.
Everyone is mostly fine now, so not to worry. But it was rough. And after the second trip to my son's pulmonologist in just over a week, and having him miss school again, and having to take care of all the medications and inhalers and nebulizer treatments and everything else that goes with having a really sick kid.... I was definitely feeling the stress. And starting to be grumpy.
I was feeling the pressure, and letting it get to me. And yes, having myself a little pity-party. Poor me, with all the stress of having things piled on, one after another, like it was never going to end. And that's when I finally broke, and said "I've had it!" And as soon as I said that, I realized that what I'd had enough of was not so much about what has been going on, but how I was reacting to it.
Sure, life piles it on sometimes. And yes, it can start getting to us after a while. But the woe-is-me attitude can only last for so long before we have to make a change. And since there wasn't really anything I could do about my son's illness other than what I was already doing, it was easy to figure out that the change had to be in where I chose to focus.
So like I often do, I tried looking for the good things anywhere I could. At first it wasn't easy, and I had to kind of stretch it a bit. Like, at least it was my index finger that I hurt, so the bandage was easier to keep dry than it would have been on another finger. Yeah, that works. There's something to be happy about.
Then I started finding other little things. Like the new electric cork screw that I got for Christmas. So now I don't have to wait for my husband to get home before I can open a bottle of wine. Score! Or the season premier of White Collar. Always a thing to be happy about. And I discovered that Netflix just added some of the missing episodes of Dr. Who, so I finally got to see some things that I missed. Awesome!
Once I started, it got easier. As it always does. (And we all know that. But it never hurts to be reminded.) So yes, there might still be *@#$%! snakes on this *@#$%! plane, but I don't have to let them ruin my day. :)
Oh, and this doesn't have anything to do with anything other than the fact that it always makes me smile. I didn't post a clip of the original scene that I was talking about, because I wanted to spare you the profanity. (If you really want to see it, you can look it up. It's not that hard to find.) But this scene is famous for another (and I think funnier) reason. Here now for your viewing pleasure, I give you the worst TV edit fail or all time:
It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.
Almost immediately following the joys of celebrating Halloween last week, most of my attention for the rest of the week was focused on my son, who is sick yet again. (And I'm not exaggerating when I say almost immediately. Before we even made it home from the carnival that night he was coughing and wheezing.) I felt so bad for the poor kid to have to end Halloween that way, but to his credit he handled it like a champ.
It happened very similarly to the way it did in the past. Not feeling very well one evening, getting a little worse the next day, then waking up that night completely unable to breathe. Luckily we had enough experience with these situations that we were able to avoid a trip to urgent care that night, but I did take him to the doctor first thing the next morning.
I know - so far this doesn't sound like a happy story. But trust me when I say that I'm getting there. See, we've been dealing with breathing issues with my son for most of his life. (I can't remember off hand exactly when the first episode was, but I remember sitting with him in the rocking chair while he chewed on the nebulizer mouthpiece. He couldn't have been more than six months old, if that.)
But even with all of the times that he got bronchiolitis and pneumonia over the years, they still never gave us any indication of an underlying cause, or any hope that there was anything we could do to help keep it from happening. Despite my suspicions that there was something deeper going on, I was always assured that children just get sick sometimes, and his case wasn't really all that unusual.
But finally, after getting sick for the third time since August, we were told on Friday that he does, in fact, have asthma. Again, this doesn't necessarily sound like a reason to be happy. Except that it kind of is. Because now at least we have something to work with. (If you've ever dealt with any kind of chronic illness, especially one with an elusive diagnosis, you know what a difference it makes just to finally know what's happening to you.)
I know it's not going to be easy for him (or the rest of us) moving forward, but I am so very grateful that at least now can move forward, with some sense of direction. There are lots of things for us to learn, and changes for us to make, but at least now we know where to look. And as a mom, finding out that there is actually something you can do to help your kid is an unbelievably huge relief.
See. I told you we'd get around to the happy ending eventually. :)
Ok. I shared mine - now it's your turn!Please feel free to leave me a comment and share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!
And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like.) But if you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!
It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.
Laundry Helpers
One afternoon as I was folding the kids' laundry my daughter came in and asked if she could help. I fought the urge to sigh, knowing (as most parents do) that quite often the "help" just ends up making more work for me. But I smiled and thanked her as she excitedly handed me each article of clothing from the basket.
As soon as the rest of the clothes were put away, I sat down to fold the piles of socks and underwear that we had separated. Of course she sat right down with me, and decided that it was her job to fold her own underwear. Again I fought the urge to stop her, thinking that I was just going to have to refold it when she was done. But then I sat and watched her.
With her face set in serious concentration, she worked her little hands so carefully and methodically, doing her absolute best to fold each piece as I had shown her. And as she added each completed pair to her stack, I realized that it didn't matter in the slightest if her folds weren't exact, or if her stacks weren't perfect. Because, frankly, who cares if a four-year-old's underwear drawer isn't perfect?
It turned out to be a good lesson in patience for me, a good lesson in responsibility for her, and it actually did make less work for me in the end. Overall, it ended up being a definite win.
School Lunch
On Friday my daughter and I volunteered to help out with an event that was going on at my son's school. And since we were going to be there anyway, we decided to stay and have lunch together. It turned out to be a nice treat for all of us. My daughter got to eat in the school cafeteria like a big kid, and my son was obviously thrilled to have us there. And I just got to sit back and soak in the joy.
Late-Night Doctors
For some reason, my son has quite a knack for getting sick right at the start of a holiday weekend. The Friday night before Memorial Day he came down, quite suddenly, with a stomach flu. And this past week, right at the start of Labor Day weekend, he managed to get sick again. It's bad enough to get sick on a normal weekend, but a holiday weekend is even worse (partly because it ruins a perfectly good three day weekend, and partially because your doctor's office is going to be closed until Tuesday.)
He was fine all day Friday, but late in the evening he started complaining that "I don't really feel very good." By Saturday morning he had the telltale wheezing that said we were going to be in for several rounds of nebulizer treatments. Sometimes that's all it takes, but unfortunately not this time. Around 10pm Saturday night he woke up in obvious pain, holding his chest and screaming that he couldn't breathe. (In case you're wondering - yes, that's a very scary thing for a mom to hear from her six-year-old.)
It was clear at that point that he was going to need more than just the breathing treatments we had been giving him, and that we weren't going to be able to wait until Tuesday to see a doctor. Fortunately for us there is an overnight pediatric care facility not too far away. (It's almost an hour drive, but I guess "not too far" is relative. It beats the heck out of waiting three more days to see someone.)
And so, praise all things that are good in the universe, we were able to get him some help. After they administered some steroids and a few more breathing treatments, his frighteningly low oxygen level finally came back up to near-normal, and we were able to avoid an even scarier (and way more expensive and frustrating) trip to the ER. He still isn't back to full health yet, but he is obviously on his way to getting better. And for that, I am eternally thankful.
I shared mine - now it's your turn! Please feel free to share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week! And if you're a blogger and would like to get in on the LML fun, feel free to grab the code and join the blog hop! Your post doesn't specifically have to use the "LML" label (although you're welcome to use it if you'd like.) But if you have any kind of happy, positive Monday message that you'd like to share you're welcome to join. The more happy vibes, the better the Monday!
It's Monday once again, my friends. And as always that means it's time to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And of course now is also the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.
Bouncing Back
Today I am most thankful to say that I am feeling much better than I was at this time last week. That irritating bug hung on for most of the week (no matter how many times I told myself that it was going to go away any time now.) I still have a tiny bit of lingering congestion, but other than that I'm basically back to my old self. And the kids, as usual, bounced back even more quickly than I did. I was very glad to see that they didn't have to suffer very long at all.
Being sick is never fun, but after it passes it does kind of give you a renewed sense of vitality, doesn't it? (At least it does for me.) Over the weekend I found myself doing laundry, cleaning the house, and taking care of all the other things I had been putting off all week - and actually enjoying it, because I could move around without feeling like my head would explode. It never hurts to have a change in perspective now and then. :)
Sharing the Love
Like I said when I started this blog, one of my original goals was "to remind you to always look for the bright side" of any given situation. And as my LML movement started, it's also been my goal to not only have you look on the bright side, but to share it and spread the joy. Focus on the happy side of life, and encourage everyone else to do the same. And I've loved what I've seen!
Now it's time for the next evolution. I've had some suggestions from friends and readers and other bloggers that I host a blog hop (or something of that sort) and let other bloggers help spread the LML joy. I think this is an awesome idea, and I'm sad that it's taken me this long to get around to putting any serious thought into it. Not that I was ignoring the suggestion, but my focus is always pulled in so many directions that taking on something new often has to get put on the back burner.
But as I finally started working on a way to get started... I realized that I'm kind of out of my depth on this one. There is such a myriad of sites and styles and tools and ways of doing blog hops, etc. that I realized I should really get some advice before I dive in. So that's where you come it. If you have any experience in this area, I would really appreciate your opinions and suggestions.
I'm hoping to have something up for next week's installment. So for you other bloggers out there - I'd love for you to start thinking about joining in with your own LML Monday post. I have a feeling that you'll find, as I did, that keeping your eyes open for post ideas will really help you focus on the things that are going well in your life. Projecting the positive always feels better than noticing the negative. Give it a try!
Yes, my friends, it's Monday. Time once again to reflect on the things that made us happy over the past week. And, as always, now's the perfect time to set the tone for a great week to come! If you missed my take on LML, you can find it here. If you missed the explanation of LML Monday, you can catch up here.
Lunch Dates
My son started back to school last week, so we've all been adjusting to the new routine and the full day schedule (as opposed to the half days of last year's kindergarten.) For the most part everyone is handling everything just fine, but it has been a little difficult for my daughter. She doesn't really care for having to go all day without her big brother.
So to help ease her suffering, I've been trying to find fun things that we can do together during the school day. One of the things that we came up with is that once a week we'll go out to lunch together. She gets to pick the place, and we get to enjoy some mommy/daughter time. And having our weekly lunch dates on Friday means that we have something to look forward to all week.
This past week we went to her favorite Mexican food restaurant for burritos. And as you can see, it was a hit. :)
NyQuil Shots
You know how sometimes when you catch a cold or a bug it comes on gradually, and sometimes it hits you suddenly out of nowhere? This one hit me last night at 9:23. (Ok, that may not have been the exact time, but it did hit that suddenly, some time around 9 last night.) I was fine, and then the next minute I wasn't.
So now I've got the sneezing, sore throat, constant blowing of the nose, and sinuses that feel like they're going to explode and take half my face with them. It feels, in a word, awful. And trust me, friends, when I say that trying to write about loving your life when you feel this terrible can be a challenge. (Honestly, writing about anything when you feel like this is a challenge, which explains the lateness of this post.)
But if you've learned anything from me, I hope it's that life is all about how you choose to direct your focus. You can whine all day about how miserable you feel, or you can be glad that you always keep a supply of NyQuil and DayQuil on hand, as well as plenty of soup and hot tea in the pantry. You can guess which one I'm trying to do today.
I admit that this is one of those times when the bright side didn't come to me automatically, as it usually does. In fact, if we want complete honesty, I kind of had to force it today. (When I'm sick, especially when it's a sinus thing, I have a really hard time focusing, and being happy is not the natural inclination.) It's a challenge, but I'm giving it my all.
So I've been savoring the many cups of hot tea, and appreciating the tasty (and low-cal) soups that I had for lunch and dinner. (Hot soup and hot tea aren't necessarily the first thought when the outside temps are 110+, but I'm hanging in there.) And I'm going with the idea that the NyQuil/DayQuil combination punch will knock this thing out quickly.
Like I said, it's all about focus. And now it's your turn. Please feel free to share some of your recent LML moments. Focus on the happy thoughts, and let's all have a great week!
I mentioned last week how awesome big brothers can be. Of course not to be outdone, my daughter reminded me a few days later that little sisters are pretty great too.
My son woke up one morning complaining of a tummy ache. (Not to worry - he's fine. It was just one of those icky, "I don't feel good" kind of mornings.) After trying and failing to get him to eat anything for breakfast, I persuaded him to snuggle up on the couch to rest and recuperate.
I got him settled in with his blanket and pillow, and some cartoons on TV - all the things that are pretty much guaranteed to help an upset tummy. Trying to think of anything else that might help comfort him, I asked if he wanted his teddy bear.
As soon as he said "yes, please" in his tired, weak little voice, his sister (who had been hovering nearby just waiting for a chance to help) yelled "I'll go get it!" and ran upstairs faster than I've ever seen her go. When she returned, she gave her big brother his bear, and a loving sisterly hug to go with it.
It was definitely one of those proud-mommy moments, seeing how much my kids love and care for each other. It's true what I said before, that every girl should be lucky enough to have a big brother. But let's not forget that the boys who have little sisters are pretty lucky too. :)
It's weird, but except for all of my chronic conditions that I live with, I actually hardly ever get sick. (I know this is a contradiction, because technically having chronic conditions means that I'm always sick.) But you know what I mean - colds and other acute illnesses rarely ever get me down. And being someone who appreciates irony like I do, that just kind of makes me chuckle.
So it's odd that I find myself getting sick again for the second time in just a couple of weeks. This time it's not another gross stomach thing, thank goodness. But it's an almost-equally-gross-but-in-a-different-way sinus thing. You know, the kind where your head is a couple of sizes too big, and you go through an entire box of tissues in a single day, and all you want to do is crawl under the covers and whine. (I know, I know. We better call the Waaaambulance!)
But of course you can't hide under the covers all day, because there are kids to be taken care of, so you suck it up and go on with life. So, knowing that I had to get rid of this thing quickly, the first thing I did yesterday when I felt it coming on was reach for a mug of hot tea. And for this, I have to thank a couple of people for their influence. My dear mother has taught me so many important lessons over the years, but this is the most relevant right now.
At the first mention of a sore throat, Mom would always remind me to "drink something hot." Granted, this is a less pleasant task when it is a hundred and nine degrees outside than it is, say, on a cold winter morning. But it still does the job, so again I suck it up. (Figuratively and literally this time.)
The other person I have to thank is my sister, another of my favorite people in this world. It was while staying with her for a few months, many years ago, that I came to appreciate the value of a well-stocked tea cabinet. And it was then that I lovingly gave her the title Queen of Something Hot to Drink. She always knows the moment the need for tea arises, and is right there with a steaming mug in hand. (That's just one of her many amazing qualities, but it's the one that comes to mind right now, for obvious reasons.)
So thanks, Mom and Sis, for being such a great influence. As I sit here enjoying my second cup of the day, and joyfully observing how it soothes my throat, I'm thinking of you with love. Of course I'm also thinking about this horrible sinus headache, and hoping it will go away soon. But mostly it's all about you. ;)
My apologies for the lack of positive spin on last night's post. But when your stomach has turned inside out several times, even after you think there couldn't possibly be anything left in it, it's hard to think at all, let alone think of a bright side of your current situation.
Things still aren't as cheery around here as I would like them to be. Being vertical is not my favorite position. I'm sure seeing me try to walk around would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
And I just had toast for dinner.
But after spending most of the afternoon in bed, in that wonderful illness-induced fog that isn't quite sleep but is better than nothing, I'm finally starting to feel a little better. My head is clearing, at least, even if the queasiness isn't.
And of course, the moment the fog lifted, the bright side of my situation suddenly became abundantly clear. Even while I was laying there, doubled over and making little pathetic whimpering noises, it occurred to me that I was only having to deal with my own misery, and not having to clean up after any other sick people in the house.
If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. Usually when you get sick it's because you were taking care of the sick kids and/or husband, which you have to continue to do even after it hits you. But this time, mercifully, I'm the only sick one here. I may still have to deal with caring for others while I'm sick - there's just no getting around that. But at least I'm not caring for other sick people. That, absolutely, is the bright side of the situation.
And if that wasn't enough, I also just discovered that I've lost six pounds in the last two days. So there's that too. :)
