Thoughts from the sick bed

I have been down and out the past couple of days with a bad cold and chest cough...in other words, I've watched a lot of Grey's Anatomy.  Its ironic that being sick makes me the most motivated to use my time wisely once I get to get out of bed.  I think of all the things I could be doing with my time and make plans for this and that, all of which I promptly forget once I'm feeling better and get back into my routine.
Being sick also puts someone like me (and most women I know), who was given an innate need to help others feel better, in a position where I need to be taken care of.  I need to ask for help, which is something that doesn't always come easy.  I feel as though I am not being strong enough if I can't do it all on my own.  I know I'm not the only one!
I have been blessed with a body that does not get sick very often...until this year.  I have had more colds and infections than I ever have!  Each time I feel myself getting sick I'm like "I got this!  No big deal!  Mind over matter!" and then I collapse in bed waving my white flag of surrender.  "Water!" I call weakly.  I can do nothing.
I think getting sick is one big way God teaches us humility.  We see how fleeting our strength really is.  We have to rely on someone other than ourselves and realize we can't do it all.  That's the way its supposed to be!  In fact the Bible is chock full of verses about being dependent on others...1 Corinthians 12 anyone?
He has put us on this earth with billions of other people, and He didn't do it so we could get mad at each other in traffic or annoyed at how differently they do things than us.  He did it so we could love each other!  The flip side to LOVING is allowing yourself to BE LOVED.  How often do we let someone do something nice for us without feeling at least slightly guilty?  Feeling like we should be doing something back?  Being sick puts us in a position where we must accept another's love for us without being able to return the favor (or at least not right away).  So I think that is the thing I will try my best to remember to do once I get out of this bed- allow myself to be loved.  Allow myself to accept kind acts with a simple "Thank you" instead of a "Are you sure?" and a lot of guilt.  I will remember that accepting another's kindness does not make me a bad person, but rather gives me the opportunity  to pay it forward (or back) later :)

Time with the Littles

I was blessed with an opportunity to travel back to Naples and see my little nieces and nephews for a couple days while my brother and his wife were out of town.  Nothing puts your 'busy' life or 'tired' self in perspective like watching 3 children full time for a couple days!  I'm a very experienced baby sitter but full-time mommying is not something I yet have real knowledge of.  All I can say is KUDOS to all the mamas out there :)

One of the best parts of my time spent with them all is that I got to be there while they experienced The Sandlot for the first time!  I'm very proud to announce that they loved it!  They even wanted to watch it a second time; my 4 year old nephew was so into it that when the pool scene came up and Squints gets on the diving board, he said worriedly "But he can't swim!!"

What a truly classic movie The Sandlot is!  I never get tired of it and I'm so glad I got to share such a great childhood moment with my littles.  That, and some dinner time with my other brother and his growing family of littles (Shout out Stephanie!), made it a really wonderful couple of tiring days :)

Just a few highlights of our days:

Playing in the rain with Clara :)

Funny faces with Liora

Finger  nail painting!

Sandlot watching with Xavier

Unfortunately (fortunately?) we were having too much fun at dinner with the rest of the family to snap any pics, but it was a big highlight!  So nice going back and seeing you are missed :)