Silence and Gratitude

So today is day # 3 of me having the worst sore throat of my life.  I don’t know whether I have strep, laryngitis, the flu, or something else, but it feels like I have shards of glass in the back of my throat every time I try to swallow.  I can’t speak AT ALL.  And I’ve been running a fever for the last 48 hours.  I’m headed to the doctor tonight just to make sure this isn’t strep, and I’m feeling rather thankful that I’ve never had strep throat before!

As I lay here surfing the web and checking Facebook, I came across this fantastic piece about complaining.  Our new pontiff has some great thoughts for the whiners of the world.  If you whine (so basically if you are a woman!), go read this article.  Not only does complaining make you a joy stealer, complaining draws us into ourselves, and makes it more difficult to see Christ walking beside us in our suffering.  The piece is short and worth the 2 minute read.

And so, in the spirit of not being a whiner, I’m going to list some things I am thankful for in the midst of this illness–

1)  Tylenol and Ibuprofen.  Without these two lovely over -the-counter medications, I think I’d have to take up drooling over swallowing, which is rather gross.

2)  The weight loss and possible detoxing effect of night sweating and fevers.

3)  A husband who bought me flowers and did the food shopping at 10 last night.

4)  The best childcare/nanny in the world–Rachel.  Rachel stayed late last night and allowed me to be in bed for most of the day.  When I came downstairs, the house was sparkling.  She even mopped my floor.

5)  My house is really, really quiet.  The kids seem to think quiet is necessary so they can “hear” me if I try to speak.  Since today I am unable to speak at all, they are now responding to hand gestures, nods, and smiles.  I’m already thinking of ways to incorporate this into our daily lives post illness.

6)  Related to #5, I pointed to a laundry basket, and the kids folded and put away their clothes.  I pointed to a trash can and they took out the trash.  It all feels a bit magical.

7)  When they forget I can’t talk and ask me “why?” I simply shrug.  The older ones are learning to phrase everything in yes/no questions.  They are practicing their reasoning skills AND since I am a homeschooler, I can count this as Math for today.

8)  I cancelled formal homeschooling for the past two days and we are watching movies about the Bible.  The kids are also making me get well cards and drawing me pictures.  I feel very loved, and I think this counts as Religion, Handwriting, History, and Art.

9)  My mom, despite being in pain herself, stopped by to make lunch for the kids.  She only stayed for an hour, but it was a huge help.

10)  I am still able to blog because I just got a new MacBook Air laptop!  I have a laptop!!!!

What little things are you thankful for today?