Taking a Sick Day

It started around 11 p.m. on Sunday night, with Isabel. She was the sickest of all the children, spending the entire night up and down and in and out of the bathroom. I scooted Ian into bed with Alec, and Eva into Ian's bed so that I could share the room with Isabel and accompany her. 

Sometime in the middle of the night, Owen became the second to fall sick. He, too, was up and down and in and out of the bathroom through the night hours. During the times he managed to fall asleep, he did so snuggled up beside me on Eva's twin-sized mattress (which, between the two of us and her dozen stuffed animals made for a tight squeeze!)

I didn't hear when Eva and Alec followed suit. It was in the early hours of morning and thankfully by then my husband had awakened to take charge of cleanup. By the time I permanently rose from bed, he had used bleach in the kitchen and had messy sheets soaking in the washer. Between the two of us we cleaned multiple bathrooms multiple times and repeatedly washed hands, hoping we might somehow be exempt of our children's illness.

It made for a very quiet day. No one went to school, which would not have been a disappointment except for the fact that Eva and Isabel were looking forward to being photographed in uniform with their fellow classmates in this year's Brigada de Transito. Pedro ran errands, delivering a pen drive with a group PowerPoint presenation to Eva's 6th grade class and breakfast snacks and Bible study materials to the ladies gathered at church for a planning meeting. Throughout the morning and afternoon, Netflix was our friend as the children alternately napped and watched movies together. 

The only one who didn't sleep any extra was Alec (thus no cute sleeping picture of him above.) And the only one who didn't become sick was Ian (though he made the most of the bonus sleep today and didn't rouse until hours after the rest of us!) Even Whittaker the puppy seemed to enjoy the tranquility and made Eva's day by snuggling with her for hours on end.

Sometimes God has to force us to rest. Years ago my dad broke his ankle while a busy missionary with many responsibilities. He absolutely did not have the time in his busy schedule to deal with the inconvenience, but I remember everyone saying that sometimes God has to make us slow down the hard way! I'm sorry that my children has to suffer illness, but I am thankful for today's restfulness.

Praying tonight for our precious ones to have comfort, refreshment and renewal. Even on a sick day, it is a joy and privilege to be their mom.