Recovery

Reagan is on the mend and so far her parents have been quite fortunate to have avoided coming down with her ailment. Monday night Reagan slept in her own bed and would you believe she has rarely slept so well? She went RIGHT to sleep and did not make a single peep until about 6:50. Yay! And Tuesday she was her normal spunky self - except that she did not want to eat ANYTHING. She even rejected her snacks and special treats - choosing only to drink juice and milk. Which is fine. I know someday her appetite will come back full force and we’ll soon be negotiating over food again. She slept pretty well last night, but still woke up a time or two with a very short whine or cry. It was never enough for us to have to get up with her so we were glad for that. And this morning I had to wake her up at 7:00 so that we could get going. Soon her sleepiness wore off and she was capturing a ladybug in the bathroom - which led to some great excitement because it ended up on her pajama pants just crawling around. To which she said, “Crawling on my pants! Bug!” Its good to laugh before 8:00 AM. You should try it sometime.

You know, sometimes, staying home is not easy. All the stay-at-home mommies just laughed out loud. They know that’s the truth even better than I do. I stay at home two days a week so I don’t really get the full effect. But what I mean is this - some days get really long and really test your patience. You just want to do something productive or go somewhere and feel like you are not trapped in your house. But yesterday I had a small victory. Before I even got out of bed, I prayed a short prayer asking God to help me to be a more Godly example to my daughter; to give me strength, patience and peace throughout my day; to have the energy and motivation to focus on her and be attentive to her; to find joy in the simple things. And that is pretty much precisely what He did.

It was an ugly day outside - so windy and cold and rainy and foggy. But Reagan and I had a nice day together. She still tested my patience at times and got a time-out or two - but for the most part, we had fun playing and talking together. I was also reintroduced to the joy of watching robins in our yard. Reagan was terribly fascinated by all of them and we spent a considerable amount of time watching them pluck worms from the earth, skitter across the driveway and even bathe and splash in the puddle. In between the moments of bird-watching and coloring, I did many many many loads of laundry - all in the hopes of cleaning any remaining sick-bacteria out of our home. But beyond all the practicality, I really felt a sense of fulfillment and purpose as I played with her and talked to her. Maybe I tend to get a bit overly saccharine when I write about my time with Reagan. Trust me that not every day is a glowing memory for me. But yesterday was a sweet, wonderful, simple day. And I’m thankful God was well within my focus throughout the day, giving me extra bursts of patience and strength when I needed it.

It was just the sort of day we needed after a bit of a rough start to the week. To not just feel “better”, but to feel “good” was a real gift. And not so much one I gave to myself...but one from my Heavenly Father. Now on to disinfecting the rest of my house!