A Day of Rest

Disclaimer: Due to the graphic nature of this blog post, reader discretion is advised. If you have a weak constitution or do not have children, you may not want to read this post.

Sundays are supposed to be a chance to rest from the day to day and focus on more important things. Let us regale you with a tale of our most recent Sunday...

Church starts for us at 8:30 AM. We got up early and I did a quick shovel of our walks. There was not even 1/4" on the ground, so I figured that I could get up to the church and quickly shovel if no one had done it yet. At 8:00 AM the phone rang. A local church leader wanted me up there shoveling. We rushed out the door, but it was done before we got there. The day was not off on the right foot.

Church went well. The young men spoke and a number of the talks were excellent. Classes went really well and church was a success. I had a meeting after church. I said goodbye to Mary and the children and was at the church for another hour.

When I got home, we had our home teachers visit. Caleb listened for the first half and then ran around the second half. I put him down for a nap and then helped Mary get the turkey in the oven. We had invited two families over and were cooking a big dinner.

Then I left for a home teaching visit. I got home an hour before the dinner guests were going to arrive. All of the food was getting prepared and we were on track. Caleb was a little slow to get up, but that is not unusual. Mary asked me to make two boxes of Ghirardelli Double Chocolate brownies. (Does that make them Quadruple Chocolate brownies?)

There were 20 minutes until our guests arrived and Caleb said his stomach hurt. So I went to check on him. Nothing in particular was wrong, so I went back to work. I cracked the eggs into the mix and Caleb was complaining again. I couldn't do anything for him, so I asked Mary to talk to him quickly. Caleb threw up on his bed and the floor before Mary got into the room. 15 minutes before our guests arrived. I put on the first load of laundry.

I threw him into the shower and cleaned up. Mary called our guests. One family cancelled, one family came. I went between the brownie making and the shower. In the shower Caleb threw up again. I was supposed to clear the drains on Saturday with cleaner and I had not done it. Now there is vomit in the drain and all over the shower and Caleb is shivering on the toilet sick. I got him warm and scooped the vomit out of the shower. As all of this is going on, dinner is starting in the other room. Caleb settled into our bed about thirty minutes after the guests arrive. I gave him some books and go eat.

Dinner is going fine, but Caleb needs help about 10 minutes later. Mary goes in there and he has diarrhea. I did not think he had anything left in him. I start the second load of laundry about an hour and a half into dinner.

We have dessert and our guests leave 45 minutes later. Caleb is not feeling well. He has ruined a couple of outfits and we are going threw clothes. We finally put him to bed around 9:00 pm and I get to work on the drains. After an hour the sink is draining like magic, the tub is not draining at all. So I ran out to the store, not something I like to do on Sunday. I get the drain fixed and Caleb wakes up sick. We quickly shower him off because his bottom is starting to hurt.

Now he won't go back to bed because he is thristy. It is 12:30 AM and I am looking for the nearest CVS. I go and get some Pedialyte and bring it home. It is 1:15 AM. I set up the futon for Mary and she goes to sleep out there. Caleb and I go to bed around 1:30 AM. We get up at 2:00, 3:30, and 5:30. Each time he wakes up, he wants to drink something and then he runs into the bathroom. At 7:15 we are up for good.

Isn't that a beautiful day of rest?

Before the end of Monday, Caleb has gone threw at least 10 pairs of underwear, I have done 6 loads of laundry, and we have cleaned up vomit 4 or 5 times. It is so painful to watch your children when they are sick. You want to do so much, but can do so little.

Life is just like that at times.