Thursday, February 18, 2010

On the Bright Side


Is it spring yet? I've lived in WNY long enough to know better than to ask that question in February. But it has been a long winter! A long winter of sickness, cold, and inconvenient, ridiculous layers of outdoor clothing. We are in our second week of seclusion, it seems, due to an illness that appears to be Lysol-resistant. It just won't die. It won't! It has slowly made it's rounds and crept up on each unsuspecting member of the family. And it is bad. I could go into details. Lot's of ugly, grotesque detail, actually, but I'll be kind and refrain from my tirade.

Ya know what though? It is becoming increasingly apparent that life really is largely what you make of it. Illness has forced Mike into some much-needed and well-deserved time at home. (We girls are LOVING it.) Illness has provided ample opportunities for movie-watching, something we don't do nearly enough, and lot's o' cuddle time. Illness has allowed time for reading, personal growth, and interesting conversations. And illness has shown me yet another reason why I am so very proud to call my family my own... Despite our small house, (very small,) LOT'S of "together time," only one toilet, (eh-hem... a real issue during this particular illness,) Mom and Dad being down-for-the-count (literally) for a couple days, and two little girls with barking coughs and runny noses, we are still enjoying our time together. We worked together. We helped each other. We let things go that maybe otherwise we wouldn't have. And we stuck together. Mike even called it the "vacation" that I have been wishing for... I wouldn't go THAT far. But I'm glad we made the best of it.