I sat down to write last night when I heard Addie cough a few times. I got up to check on her and the rest is a sleepy blur. She has asthma so what started out as a small cough last night turned in croup ALL NIGHT AND DAY LONG!!! So needless to say I didn't get a chance to hash out the day on the keyboard. Oh well! Life as a Momma!
Yesterday was rainy and cold and was also the first day of Fall Break for Rae. I had set up a meeting at her school to talk to her teacher and pick up her Report Card (which was all A's and 2 A+'s YAY!) When we got back in the car I didn't feel like going home and spending one more day sitting around inside. So, I asked my girls on a date. Lunch and a movie...I was feeling brave. Rae picked Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Addie picked a "sannich" (sandwich) lunch, so we went to Subway. The girls were great at lunch, just talking about their day so far and how excited they were to see the movie. We got to the theater and I took a long deep breath. You see the last time I took Addie girl to a movie, Craig wound up leaving half way through with her. It was either that or get beaten up by the crowd of people who she threw candy at, kicked their seat, or just plain disturbed by her sweet but large mouth. I bought our tickets, took their hands, and bravely walked where no mom has before...into a movie alone with her 2 children one of which is a Tornado of a 2 yr old. OK, maybe I am not the first mom, but the looks I got from others told me that I was definitely brave. We walked up to the boy who tears your tickets and he was in a wheelchair. He was mentally handicapped and had a hard time controlling his arms. He struggled to take the ticket and struggled even harder to tear it. Then he aimed for my hand to give me the stub, but missed by a mile. I just smiled and said thanks and have a good day. Rae asked me why he was in a wheelchair when we were too far for him to hear (she is very aware this kid...love it!). I said that it is just people getting around different ways. Some walk, some ride a bike, and some drive a car. People come in all different forms for all different reasons. That satisfied her appetite for answers so we found our seats. I braced myself. However, Addie was wonderful. They both were. Addie stood most of the time and watched and Rae of course sat still and quiet with the occasional candy crunch and giggle. When we left, Addie said, "Momma, I wreally yike dat movie. Ank you fowr taking me to see dat." Rae chimed in as well to thank me and I am pretty sure my feet weren't touching the ground when we left the theater.
Craig came home feeling under the weather yesterday so he went to bed pretty early. Today, it was still yucky outside so we all went to see another movie. OK, so I got a little cocky...it paid off though. They were both great today as well. When were leaving, Craig started to feel really bad so we went home for naps. Addie Grace started coughing again non stop so I took her to the doctor's and when I got home Craig was laid out on the couch with a 101 temp. My sweet Rae was sitting in the living room watching Disney so, "he didn't feel lonely." How sweet is she? So the rest of my evening was spent measuring out cough medicine, making toast, pushing drugs on my husband, and tucking everyone into bed. I found myself getting grumpy today about Addie and Craig feeling sick. Like, it was just one more thing I had to deal with. Then I thought of the boy at the movies yesterday. I thought of each movement he made to take tickets, tear them, and return them and how uncomfortable he looked when he did it...even though all the while he smiled and said thank you every time he did it. Then I thought about how sick I had been the past few years and all the people that helped us through it...even the small things like dropping off dinner for my family because I didn't have the energy to make them one or coming over to sit outside while the girls played because I was in pain and couldn't move. I thought of Rae being sick in the beginning of this year and how, even now as I type my heart skips a beat and tears well up in my eyes, as I think of how she looked and how scared we felt. I think of my grandmother battling breast cancer and how eloquently she is doing it. In our wedding vows we vow to be there in sickness and health...but it isn't just in our marriage that we uphold such a thing. It is in our everyday existence...to those that we know and care about and even for some that we don't. It makes you realize how petty you can be over the 'woe is me' attitude about a cough and sniffle. When the Dr. examined Addie today she asked her all the questions, "How do you feel? What hurts? Can I listen to your heart?" And she answered every one clearly and confidently. Even when the Dr. asked if she had a runny nose, Addie Grace said, "Yes I have a booguwr nose." I almost fell on the floor laughing, but I was pretty impressed by it too. As I giggled to myself over her answer it hit me...even when she is sick...I am so thankful that she is a healthy little girl. Really that my whole family is healthy...in the sense that we can live everyday normally (well for Addie more like nakedly) and enjoy each other without the heavy burdens of serious illness. That even on our most snotty days, literally, we can still make each other laugh and take care of one another. Sometimes when the girls are sick I get the best hugs, the best one on one time, and most definitely some of the best Laughable Moments. Hug your monkeys tight tonight and take delight in thier pink rosy cheeks and their big baby bellies...oh and take a vitamin.
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