The Flu: It's What's "Knocking [My] Socks Off"

Well... there's nothing quite like a severe dose of the flu to provide an escape route for the momentum you think you may have found!  It's provided a rapid and steady leak for me.  I've been completely drained physically, emotionally, and BLOGitively.  I HURT something fierce, and even typing makes me shake.  How sad is that?  Pathetic... I thought a couple of these past 4 days that I was going to be better, and even felt so for a few hours, but... I've just progressively gotten worse.  How is that possible???  Grrr...  and my kids are on Spring Break, so I'm totally ruining their fun vacation time.  I don't have time or patience to be sick.  It totally gets me down.  It's almost literally "knocking my socks off!"

There are several things, however, that I have learned while being sick that I think are worth sharing!

1.  My kids really are great.  They haven't been happy about me being sick, but have, for the most part, been very willing to help out where they can, and without too much begging on my part and whining on theirs.

2.  Men are weaker when sick than women.  Damian, unfortunately, got sick, too, although most of his was stomach related.  And... since this is going nowhere really nice, I think I'll just leave it at that.  We were both TOTALLY BEAT at the end of the day for several days.  NOT GOOD.  A household with 3 relatively young kids and two very sick parents = bad news!

3.  Dad's are great.  They introduce your kids to things you would have never thought to do on your own... like Myth Busters!  My kids love that show, among other similar shows (ie. How It's Made, Top Shot, etc.) because Damian is a nerd!  Haha!  So when I was curled up on the couch with a heavy blanket and in much flu pain, I was impressed to find that instead of watching a steady stream of cartoons, the kids had actually chosen to watch Myth Busters.  Among the fun things that they were "busting" was whether or not you could actually have your socks knocked off!  I now know that you would have to hit me with 10,000 times the physical force of a boxer in the ring to do so.  You would have to hit me with a steel bar hooked onto the back of a tow truck going 65 mph to do so... and that would be barely before you also knocked my FEET off!  Crazy!  My kids laughed and laughed at the dummy in slow motion getting his socks knocked off.  It actually made me smile... so...

THANK YOU, DAMIAN, for educating our kids in ways that they find fun and amusing!  And I really mean that.  I know this may be a biased statement, but I honestly think we have the smartest kids around... and they have Damian's amazing ability to remember all kinds of facts... useful or not!

4.  Kids are amazing, and kids today know soooo much more than I did when I was a kid.  I honestly know that we have great educators surrounding us, at school, at church, in our circle of friends, etc.  And Damian was a total smarty pants when he was little, reading through the entire encyclopedia, but Lexi just FINISHED all 7 Harry Potter books... having only started just before Christmas, and having other reading material on her palate in the same time period.  Braeden is no longer in a "reading group" in his class.  He and another little girl are on their own because they are currently reading past a 3rd grade level, and the teacher is now focusing on those kids that can't hardly read at all.  And Ella is writing her first and last name all over everything!  Without help... and she is recognizing several words all the time now.  I know if I took the time to sit with her and really work on it, she would be reading within a month or less.  {I'll put that on my list of things to work on!}  My kids also know so much more about the gospel and the scriptures than I did at their age.  I'm always amazed.  I know lots of kids are just as smart, but my kids really do amaze me... and since I'm not really worried or obsessed with anyone else's kids, I'm not amazed by them... only my own!

5.  Music heals the soul... even if it doesn't heal the physical being.  I was counting my blessings as I sulked about being sick and I was privileged to be able to just sit and LISTEN... without too much commentary on how to do it better {especially since I don't have a voice right now... which I'm sure they are grateful for!}... to my kids while they practiced the piano.  It warmed my heart to just watch them play, and then sit there a little longer to fiddle around and either make up their own things or play silly stuff!  I love it!  And though giving them lessons is absolutely hard, it's TOTALLY worth it right now!

6.  People are so kind and generous.  Several have asked me if they can help, and though I don't take help very often, it has been so nice to just know that I have family and friends and neighbors that I can count on if I ever should choose to give in and let them help me!  The world is still full of good people with good hearts and intentions, and for that I'm grateful.

7.  Our Heavenly Father loves us and gives us opportunities to learn and grow, and recognize his love even when we feel icky.  I'm so thankful for the knowledge I have of Him and of our Savior.

And there you have it... in a nutshell what has been going on in the last 5-ish days.  Hopefully I can let the momentum and motivation rapidly seep back into my life when I don't feel like I have to be scraped off the floor just to get up and moving!  ;o)  Wish me luck!