sick and injured . . .

You know you have had one of THOSE weeks when normal every day tasks such as dishes, laundry and grocery shopping become overwhelming, let alone that long to do list that is always present. Every member of my family has dealt with some illness, or pain of some sort this week, including myself. Luckily, I was not as sick as everyone else, but it was on the brink all week. I have been feeling VERY dragged out and tired, with splitting headaches always threatening- making taking care of everyone else even harder.

Here is the run-down.

The most serious and time-consuming thing this last week has to do with Marcus. Several months ago I posted about how I was worried about Marcus' mood (click here to read)- well recently it crescendoed to some serious depression with some other disturbing and scary things. It has taken a huge emotional toll on me as we are doing everything we can to help him. Last week the school recommended we take him out for some intensive therapy, along with what we were already doing medically. So, I have been driving him across our section of town back and forth each day for the Face to Face program at New Oakland. We feel this has been good (though very busy for me as it adds two hours in the car each day, along with all the appointments with the providers and intake evaluations, etc). With treatment (most specifically some anti-depressans), Marcus has been feeling a lot better and things are looking up. What a relief! He is acting more himself. I feel very hopefull about the future. It is so hard to see my wonderful son suffer so much. I love him so deeply and I am so glad things are getting better.

To add to the busy-ness, for the past week Cynthia, Lillian, and Tyler have been running a fever and coughing in turn off and on- - you know, the inevitable sickness that everyone seems to get each winter. Lillian and Cynthia have also been "off" with their behavior, such as getting into trouble at school- - probably because MOM is a bit off her game too. It is amazing how when I turn to focus on one child's emotional well-being, the others seem to suffer. When I realized that they were struggling too, I took a step back and did my best to remember their emotional needs each day, and things are getting better for them. They just needed some extra reasurances this week!

The one who has had to go through the most physical pain this week was Jon. He looked at me today and said "boy this week has been a pain in the butt- literally! So much all at once." He had a root canal last Friday that took four hours due to some unseen complications, then got the really bad cold, and maybe possibly sinusitis everyone else has been suffering from. To top it all off, he had this really painful insect bite on his hip which got infected and caused him a lot of pain. Today at the hospital, they had to cut it open and drain it- so poor Jon came hobbling home after work wincing in pain! He is now on his third prescription of antibiotics in the past few weeks.

i haven't been pain free either. On top of the threatening sickness and fatigue, last night I was stepping over the baby gate from the kitchen to the dining area and tripped, crashing hard to the floor. So add on a really sore knee and a HUGE bruise to this week of pain!

I know, I know, I am complaining too much. As always, I recognize that things could always be worse. Honestly, I would go through all the physical sickness to have my children all doing better emotionally. A few weeks ago when Marcus was still in the height of his depression, I was way more stressed out. Because things are getting so much better in that regard, this week honestly didn't seem so bad- - I have just been VERY, VERY tired and worn out.

A couple of other bright spots for the week were the times I connected with friends. Thursday last week was a Valentine's Relief Society activity which was balm to the soul. Friday I took Lillian to a birthday party (she wasn't sick yet!) and pretty much hung out with friends there all afternoon. Tuesday night was my best stress reliever- BOOK CLUB! Through all these activities, I was encouraged and comforted, and had a chance to connect with other moms. Thank heaven's for wonderful women in my life. One friend even randomly stopped by to share some leftovers and to visit. Food and good conversation - - totally makes my day!

Here's to a better week next week with everyone healthy! AND getting caught up on my very behind blogging! I have some pleasant things to write about . . .

------------------------------------------
UPDATE!! Monday Feb 21st . . .

Friday, as I was groggily coming out of sleep for what seemed like the hundreth time that night (Tyler got up a bunch of times with fevers, coughing, etc), Jon gently pushed me back into bed handed me some Nyquil and said "I called in sick so I can take care of you today". Ahhhh- heavenly words to hear. I had been getting more and more worn out, and was starting to get sick myself. So- I slept all morning, drank tons of water and felt like a whole new person. With Jon's help, I was able to get caught up on groceries and other necessary tasks. He knew that I would not be able to handle the weekend sick- since he had to work both days 7am to 7pm. Thanks so much for taking care of me Jon- it was amazing! I felt so much better and we actually had a decent weekend. We couldn't go anywhere (Tyler is still sick) and missed church- but I was super proud of all of us for getting along for the most part having to spend days cooped up in the house. Today (Monday Feb 21st) we woke up to 10 inches of snow . . . . cabin fever is starting to set in . . . I hope everyone can go back to school tomorrow . . .

One enjoyable thing about a sick baby is the cuddling: