During the night, it dawned on me that when morning came, I would have to call my brother David and let him know about the sickness in our household so that they didn't arrive without warning and find themselves and their kids exposed to our germs. I just knew they would decide not to come; and although I realized that was the wisest decision by far, I was really disappointed about it--not just for my sake, but for my sister's sake, my parents' sake, and most of all, Josiah's and David's sakes, who were literally counting down the days until the cousins came! I can handle my own disappointments much, much better than seeing my children be disappointed.
Strangely, in the middle of the night while I was pondering all of this, I decided to pick up a devotional book (Prayers and Promises for Mothers) that has been lying on my bedside stand for months but which I had not read in quite a long time. I felt certain that there would be something specific in it that would apply to my situation; and sure enough, on the very first page I read (which happened to be discussing Isaiah 66:13), it said this: "You've drawn me near in times of sorrow, and You've given me assurance when I've faced great disappointment." Wow, thanks!
Admittedly, my situation was nowhere near the top of the list for World's Biggest Problem that night. But how comforting it was to receive reassurance even for such a small problem (but one that could have been big for the youngest occupants of Sylvan Drive)!
When morning came, I did indeed call my brother David and tell him what was going on; and, as expected, they decided not to come. As it turned out, that was definitely the very best decision, since our David caught the bug that day and ended up throwing up several times (once, down at Grandpa & Grandma's house where my mother had taken Josiah and David so that I could get some rest...my poor mother always seems to have to deal with the boys when they throw up...for example, David threw up the night of Tobin's birth when my parents were taking care of him...another example, Josiah threw up last Tuesday evening while Jeff and I were on a date...and just yesterday afternoon, I happened to be in the bathroom here at our house, and guess what David did? that's right, he threw up--and who caught it? my mom). I didn't recover from the sickness as quickly as Jeff did (who heroically went off to work and had a busy day at the shop yesterday); and I spent the day feeling tired, weak, and generally miserable. It would not have been a fun day to have company. But we did miss them very much, and hopefully will be able to see them soon--when we're all feeling better and don't have any germs to give them! :)
On this Easter morning, I was feeling so much better that the concept of resurrection took on a new meaning for me. I felt like, in a very tiny way, I had participated in the suffering and death of Jesus from Friday night through Saturday--and then Sunday morning brought my resurrection. Silly, I guess, to think of it in this way...but that's what has stuck in my mind a lot today.
Before I wrap this up, I want to jot down a few things about my sister's time here. She thought Tobin was simply wonderful and pronounced him a "pretty baby." :) When my dad asked her who she thought he looked like, she thought a minute, then said jokingly, "Doug"...which made us all laugh because Doug is my brother--my ADOPTED brother--so nope, no genetic connection there. But she thought Tobin's dark, wild hair looked the way Doug's did when he was born.
Another funny thing happened when David said to Donna: "Aunt Donna, do you know what?" She said, "What, Baby?" He replied--immediately, seriously--with, "I'm not a baby; I'm a BIG BOY!" as if the mere suggestion of him being a baby was unthinkable and should be corrected as soon as possible. The concept of him being his mama's baby and the word "Baby" being a term of endearment didn't seem to make a bit of sense to him! :)
Anyway, what he was originally intending to say was, "Do you know what?" And when the person says, "What?" he says, "I love you!" Which is what he's been saying over and over these days. Aunt Donna sure got a good dose of love from him and from Josiah who, in addition to the love letter pictured below, had written a note just for Donna which said, "Josiah loves Aunt Donna." Whenever her love tank is running low, she can come here and get filled up with hugs and words of love!
~ Tobin and his Aunt Donna
~ a love letter that Josiah had written for the arrival of our guests
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