Today is day 31. We have had the stomach bug playing havoc in our home since last Friday....day 27. I am not counting Sundays in the Lenten count...so, the stomach bug has actually lasted 6 days...and we aren't back to normal yet.
It has been bad. I don't need to go into details other than to say that we have had more stomach issues over the past few days than anyone should endure! Luckily, Chad and I are still bug free. Chad's mom wasn't so lucky and ended up in the ER due to dehydration.
Family members were supposed to be in town for Payton's birthday celebration...that did not work so well. Most of them headed home on Saturday. My parents stayed but the party wasn't what they had expected! Clorox and laundry were the most abundant gifts! There was no eating out or enjoying the area....just indoors, avoiding germs!
Payton's 5th birthday party - which was to be held at a CofC baseball game was cancelled. We missed church. We have now missed three days of a school.
I knew "5" would be a big year....and wanted to make it special....I never planned on it going quite like this!
I like to think I have learned two important lessons...
1) It is just a stomach bug. Other children in this world have bigger problems and their "bug" doesn't go away after a week or a month or even a year sometimes. Their parents have "emergency" problems every single day. If your kid is getting chemo, the puking may be non-stop and going out to eat is never an option. So, yes, even in the midst of chaos with puke, diarrhea, excessive hand washing, laundry that seems to never end, Clorox wipes and meltdowns...I am thankful. It is, after all, just a stomach bug and this has to end soon...other families have no end in sight.
2) Let go and let God. In cases like this...when family has traveled five hours to be with you for a weekend, only to turn around and head back home. When your five year old is screaming because he can't play with his cousins...after talking about it all week. When you have to explain to your 5 year old that he can't have his birthday party. When that kid cannot keep anything down and has thrown up for the 15th time in 16 hours. When you wake up to run to the bathroom with your child. When the other child starts throwing up too. When the meds are running out and the closest 24 hour pharmacy is 2 towns away. When your child can't eat the cake that you spent three days making and perfecting. When this is still going on days after you thought it would be gone.....there is nothing you can do....call on your friends for prayer, say prayers yourself and let it go....there is nothing else you can do...and again, remember it could be worse. A stomach bug is not cancer or a heart attack or anything permanent. Birthday cakes can be baked again (and again!) and parties can be rescheduled! Family time will come again.
Learning to let it go is still a work in progress! For now, i'm still home with he boys, anxious to get out of this house and quit walking around with wipes and puke buckets. It has to end soon....right?!? When it goes away, you may hear my rejoicing from hundreds of miles away!
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