Drops of Awesome

I packed up the Christmas boxes today.  That means I am organized.  One drop of awesome for me, even though I spent the rest of the day on the couch.

Please read this article... and then pat yourself on the back.  I'll help with the patting.

Going on an LDS Mission

I just found this infographic, and it's making me cry.  Alec is getting ready to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He's so excited to go, and so am I.  He'll make a great missionary - he knows so much, and likes helping people.  Only one more little thing to iron out, and his application for service will be turned in.  Why am I crying?

Lost

Things I've lost or missed while I've been sick:

Ben's basketball game.  And they won!  Congratulations to you, and hopefully your mother will be there to cheer you on for the next game.  Without tissues or cough drops.

My mind.  I keep reading things wrong.  My sister in law sent an email to ask if we would be interested in trying any "alternative curses" to help us get better.  After closer examination, I think she meant "cures."  Maybe it would take an "alternative curse" to get us back on track.

Appointments.  David and Eddie both had school-related appointments I was supposed to take them to, but I forgot.  Reschedule.  And cancel the sick, while you are at it.

Time.  I can't make time travel straight anymore.  Not that I've ever been really good at managing time, but now it goes all over the place.  Sometimes the minutes crawl agonizingly slowly, and other times I can't believe that it is so far past dinnertime!  With no dinner yet!

Church.  I have not gone to all of my meetings for four weeks, and I really miss them.  I have a bit of a spiritual drag going on, as well as a physical one.  Nothing else fills my bucket quite like going to church.

Motivation.  Was there something I was supposed to get done today?  Can't think of anything.  Guess I'll just sit and hold this here couch down.

Inclination to blog.  I guess I don't think there is all that much about our colds that is very interesting to write about.  Mucous, coughing, sneezing, fevers, delirium...   Blech.

When Mom is Sick

When Mom is sick, things run differently.

The little kids can stay in their pajamas all day.  This cuts down on morning and evening prep.  Bonus..

The medium kids have to make dinner.  David and Eddie learned how to put together an easy shepherd's pie  with canned vegetables and instant mashed potatoes.

The big kids have to do all the cleanup.  Ben did comment on the state of the kitchen when I hadn't cleaned up breakfast, lunch, or snacks.  But he did it anyway.  Chris cleaned up the wooden blocks - about ten times.

Alec and Angel were sick with me, so we just sat around and shivered and moaned at each other.  It's kind of nice to have company.

I thought about watching Jane Eyre or figuring out what all the Downtown Abbey fuss is about, but I couldn't concentrate well enough to watch a show.  I was even reading entire words backwards.  Pathetic.

I was impressed with how well the boys worked together.  And they even commented on realizing how much I do during the day.  I feel miserable, but appreciated.  Even sick, I still love being a mom.

Sick of Being Sick

This was one of my favorite books when I was a little girl.  I loved the humorous way it addressed some of the ickier parts of having an illness.  I read it over and over.  I even did a informational presentation based on it in my junior high speech class.  The pages are now dog-eared and yellow.  The front is torn.  The book even looks like the poor boy on the cover.

I'm older, like the book.  And I'm sick.  And sick of being sick.

It's been three weeks now, and I think I should be done with the flu.  Just can't get rid of the cough, and it's killing me.  Blech.

Looking for Lotion

I finally felt well enough to get out and do a few errands today.  I hope I am slowly slinking away from the flu.  I've been over the sickness for a week, but still just tired.  It helps when I can sleep!

I took Freddie and Georgie to pick up a few things at the pharmacy today.  Our home remedies have been quite depleted.  We were looking for lotion, to soothe our winter-chapped hands.  Georgie was singing, "Lotion!  Lotion!  Where are you?"  Freddie suddenly stood up in the cart (highly discouraged) and pointed. "There it is!" he crowed.

I looked over and saw... um, personal lubricants.  Not the right kind of lotion.  :-)

I finally got our vacation food post up.  Look back at December 29th to see it.  I have recipes and everything!  Now I'm hungry.  Must go make dinner.

The Word of the Year

No New Year's resolutions for me.  I have a hard time planning ahead right now, and it's discouraging to not be making progress on goals I know I should make but will have a hard time working on or seeing progress. So no resolutions.

Instead, I'll focus on a word, or a phrase.  I tried it last year (read about JOY here and CONTENT here), and I found that it helped me to draw my life into the places I most wanted to be.  It worked for me.  But what for this year?

This year, I will love without asterisks, and without fine print.

That means that when I get a compliment, I don't say, "Oh, this old thing?"  Or when someone is unexpectedly nice, I don't think, "Yeah, sure."  Or when I tell my children they did a good job, I don't make a mental note that I would, however, appreciate the job more if they did it a different way.

When I love, I will learn to do it with my whole heart, without holding some back, without standing on the fence, without building walls.  Just love.  That's all.

I think it will make for a happier new year.