Sick of Being Sick

Like ninety percent of people I know, we have been experiencing a lot of sickness in our home recently. It's been a range of symptoms from not great to tolerable, but it's gone on for so long that it is wearing on us. It has cycled through everyone at least once and most of us twice, and now I'm hoping we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Everyone I talk to has been sick, so I can't really complain. I did decide to take a mini-vacation, however, in the midst of it all.

Now, before you start thinking I'm a totally reprehensible human, I didn't actually go anywhere. I just gave myself a day (mostly) off from housework. I did the minimum to just keep everyone fed and clothed. I sat on the floor and played with the kids and didn't worry that they put nothing away. I let the boys make their own breakfasts and lunch. I put a movie on in the middle of the week - a treat usually reserved for Sundays. I chose the path of least resistance on everything. I figured bad habits aren't made in a day. If they are, I have like eleven years to fix them.

By the end of the day, I wasn't mad about my decision, but I was impressed by the level of destruction that took place in less than twenty-four hours. Making my way through an absolute Mt. Everest of dishes, I found a mitten and a ball of embroidery thread in the sink. Markers had left their "marks" on the kitchen table and wall...again. I had to American Ninja Warrior my way over toys, clothes, and random shelves to get anywhere in the house. Literally every surface I touched was sticky. Plus, the boys' toilet was clogged. Ten points to Captain Clogger! (Mini-vacation or not, that toilet is always clogged. Poor kid needs more prunes in his life.)

Where am I going with this? I have no idea. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the embroidery thread. I guess this is the take away: it's not always going to go the way we plan. It's just as important to have grace for yourself, as it is to have it for others. Also, if your local grocery store is out of sanitizing and disinfecting products...sorry. It was me.

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