“…she laughs at the time to come.”

Last week was a bit crazy.  Not the whole week, but the last two days of last week.  Thursday and Friday. 

On Thursday morning, Mike was up feeling really gross.  He ended up taking the second part of the day off from work.  Josiah got home from school and was not himself.  Acting tired and irritable.  He had a dentist appointment and I told him that after the appointment he could take a nap when he got home.  So, after the appointment he hung out with Mike falling asleep watching movies.  By dinner neither was feeling much better.

Josiah had just finished 15 days of antibiotics the previous week for strep throat.  I didn’t think it could come back so quickly.  Especially after just finishing everything.  I looked down his throat and couldn’t see anything, so off to the ER we went.  He was complaining that he could only breathe through his nose and that his throat hurt really bad.  Josiah and I were there till about midnight.  He had strep again.  Got put on some killer antibiotics and home we went. 

The next morning, I made an appointment for Mike, because he was still feeling gross.  Josiah hung out at home for the day.  Tullie, Ellison and I were fine so far.  I put Tullie on the bus then ran off to the drugstore to fill Josiah’s prescription.  After 30 minutes, the drugstore didn’t have the killer antibiotic.  They called around to three drugstores and none of them had it.  So, I get home and call Children’s Pharmacy to get it going at the hospital.  A friend was so kind to come at the last minute so that I could keep the girls at home and I could take Mike to the doctor. 

I sit down to eat something at 1:30, and the phone rings.  It’s Tullie’s school.  She fell asleep on the bus.  Acting lathargic.  Sucking her thumb and just wanting to be held.  Can I come get her?  (I start laughing.  Couldn’t believe it.)  We need to leave for Mike’s appointment in 30 minutes.  So, I race over to the school (a good 10 minutes away), pick her up.  Keep her in the car, run in the house and get Mike so I can take him to the doctor.  I figure maybe I can get the doctor to look at her too while we’re there.  Josiah stays home instead with Ellison and our dear friend who is willing to hang out in our sick house.

We get to the doctor, Mike looks terrible.  They take his vitals and the nurses no sooner leave the room and Tullie pukes all over the floor!  I’ve never seen her puke so much.  And I’ve never seen Mike so sick.    Now there are three down.  Mike is diagnosed with strep throat and Tullie, they weren’t totally sure about, but put her on penicillin just in case, because she did have a swollen lymph node. 

On the way home, I pick up the prescription at Children’s, that almost causes me to have a heart attack when I saw the price of it.   Then we get to the pharmacy to fill Mike’s and Tullie’s prescriptions.  Mike’s is filled easily.  They don’t have Tullie’s.  So, Tullie’s is at another pharmacy that’s not far away.  At this point, I’m taking a few deep breathes and I don’t want to leave my house again and I had two sick people in the car.  

So, I brought Mike and Tullie home.  Mike got in bed.  Put on Veggie Tales for the kids and ran out to grab the prescription.  It wouldn’t take more then 15 minutes.  I got there and all they had to do with mix it.  Three minutes right?  They said, “That’ll be 15-20 minutes.”  What?!?!  I lost it.  I said, “I don’t have 15-20 minutes!”  I was tired and my family was sick.  I don’t like crying to get what you want, but I only waited about 5 minutes and it was done.  Maybe my minor meltdown helped speed things up???

Everyone is now on the mend.  Within 36 hours everyone was feeling better.  Not 100%, but better and still taking it slow.  Ellison and I have been feeling fine, and hopefully it’ll stay that way. 

When the family is sick it’s really stressful and really annoying.  Hard.  Everyone is sick.  Everyone is tired.  Everyone is cranky.  Everyone has a VERY short fuse.  It’s miserable being sick. 

I decided something before this last go around of sickness.  I had decided that I was going to try my best not to complain about the minor sickness.  It’s hard not to.  Instead, I’d try to take it in stride.  Little things in the grand scheme.  Colds, flues…etc.  Things that go away relatively quickly. 

I had been thinking about that verse in Proverbs: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.”(31:25) On Friday afternoon, while I was picking up Tullie, I thought, “Am I suppose to be laughing now?”  Really, I was laughing in disbelief.  It was like everyone was dropping like flies and so quickly. 

There was a time when I couldn’t laugh at the future.  It seemed too bleak.  The idea of waking up each morning was daunting and overwhelming.  It all seemed so hopeless.  But now, over time, I’ve learned to “laugh at the time to come.”  I think that that really means, that I can embrass it.  No matter how annoying, sick or stressful.  It’s a day.  It’ll be over.  The real test I think, is my attitude toward the circumstance.  My family is sick and miserable, how should I act?  Annoyed that they’re here coughing on me and puking all over?  Or react lovingly and patient toward them?  I tried to this last week.  I don’t know if I did.  I know there were times that I snapped at Mike, because I felt tired and overworked.  I was trying to love my family, but there were several times I was counting down the minutes to bedtime.  When it would be quiet and peaceful and everyone would be in bed. 

Can we laugh at the days to come?  I hope so.  ‘Cause I don’t know what else is in store.  I know that Jesus will take care of us no matter what the circumstance is and I know that He’s sovereign and I trust Him.  It seems too simplistic, but I guess in a way it sort of is…