Christmas reflection Part SIX 2018

I’ve posted several wonderful memories in the past few weeks so today’s may not be so wonderful as memorable. It has been “inspired” by the last few day’s events of both of our boys coming down with the flu. Yay for us!

So 5 years ago at exactly this same time, both of my boys had the flu and my husband had a broken leg! Insane. Yes! Stressful. Yes! So let me tell the tale of the most stressful Christmas I’ve ever had. Some of you are breathing a sigh of relief right now because you really thought that every year has been perfection for me. You know I’m right!

It all started when I had the insane notion that I would love to be the owner of two big dogs. Double the fun and double the love. Boy, was I wrong. It was quadruple the feet to wipe on rainy days. A constant fear of things being knocked over or broken because of two long tails and all the “fun” they had inside the house. One of these fur babies was given to me and she was a beauty. A golden doodle of perfect beauty and insane stubbornness and the ability to dig a two foot trench at random places in our yard on any given day. About two weeks before Christmas, this stubborn dog refused to come inside out of the cold rain about 10 pm. Stacey, with much grumbling, had to put shoes on and go out in the rain to force her to come in. I had gone upstairs to check on the boys and heard this horrible noise from outside. I could not figure out what it was so I ran quickly to the door to find out. There, sprawled in the mud and rain, was Stacey groaning and moaning like I had never heard. What we thought was a bad sprain was revealed, by morning light and an ex-ray, to be a spiral fracture. Dr’s orders were to simply remain completely off of it for at least 2 weeks to avoid surgery. So Stacey was banished to the bedroom or couch with no movement allowed unless a trip to the restroom was necessary.

Just a few days later, much to my dismay Brody was diagnosed with the flu and then a couple of days later, 3 year old Asher also became sick. The next few days were a whirlwind of checking temperatures, cleaning up throw up, sanitizing, cooking, washing tons of laundry, and making sure Stacey was comfortable. One particular night, I stood upstairs in the hallway with tears steaming down my face. I had one child in one room throwing up and crying. I had another child in the other room whose fever kept climbing higher and higher even after all meds had been subscribed. I looked up at the ceiling, simply because that was what was above me, duh! Believe me, at this point if I could have walked into the throne room in the physical I would have. So I did the next best thing, I just looked up. I cried out to God with these words, “God, You said You wouldn’t put more on us than we could bear. Well, this is pushing it!” I felt so utterly alone. I felt so tired. I felt completely overwhelmed.

Stacey felt so helpless but he had an idea that restored peace to my worried mind. I got my phone and FaceTimed him so he could pray “in-person” over Asher. I laid the phone next to Asher while I was tending to Brody in the other room. We also called family and got them to pray. The peace of God came into my chaotic world. Soon Asher’s fever began to subside and Brody stopped throwing up and was able to finally get some rest. I came down stairs depleted and crawled in bed beside my husband and laid my head on his chest. His arms were so comforting and finally I was able to get some much needed rest.

It would be nice if the story ended there but unfortunately it did not. Christmas Eve morning, Asher awoke with fever again. Something seemed off. My mother instinct was ringing alarm bells and Stacey encouraged me to call the doctor. We took him in and found out he now had pneumonia. Tears burned the back of my eyes. This was the Christmas that just kept giving! Giving gifts that I did not want and could not return! My tiny little brave boy had to get a shot that would make a grown man cry and, believe me, I think we all cried with him that day.

For the first time ever leaving town to go see family was completely out of question. After the reality of that hit, I determined that we would have a “normal” Christmas Day anyway. I nearly killed myself cooking the perfect meal. I set the Christmas China out. Polished the gold ware. Baked and cooked every dish that we would have if we went out of town to be with family. I worked until even my bones were tired. We thoroughly enjoyed Christmas morning opening all the presents and then I served my family of four a feast that would feed at least fourteen! They were all really too sick to eat much and I learned a hard lesson. What they really needed was me. Not that fancy dinner to keep “tradition” alive. After the kitchen was cleaned, dishes put away, discarded wrapping paper stuffed in the biggest trash bag available, new LEGO sets assembled, every battery placed, every toy in good working order, I collapsed on the sofa exhausted to the center of every single cell in my body. It was a Christmas in the books. A Christmas full of surprises that were not wished for. A Christmas that taught me a lesson that the greatest gift besides salvation is a healthy family! And I will never, ever, never, ever try to prove to....welll, the only one I was trying to prove anything to was only, myself, that Christmas has to be exactly the same every year.

So today, the flu has put our life on hold so we made the best of it. We all sat around in our pj’s, watched Christmas movies, ate chicken spaghetti and enjoyed LIFE together.

P.S. I also accepted that two dogs were one too many for me so I contacted that beautiful stressful dog’s previous owner and she was gracious enough to take her back and re-home her in a more appropriate place.