Month at a {Backwards} Glance

Do I do this every year?

When the end of January rolls around, I think to myself, "Oh my goodness, one-twelfth of the year is gone already!  How can it be?  Didn't we just start this year?"

I've been having that thought a lot today, but I don't think it's an original one.  Yes, I'm pretty sure I think that every single year.  :)

I love January in the same way that I love Mondays.  They're so full of clean slates...unlimited potential...hopes and dreams...energy.  In the course of a week, Tuesdays are often a little harder for me than Mondays; and likewise, February is usually more of a challenge than January (although I'm hopeful that this February will be characterized by cheerfulness and contentment).  Anyway, when this January rolled around, I was happy and excited as I looked to the future, and the month started out great.  

And then...

We all got sick.  We strive to be a generous family, so we passed our germs around to each other and shared the yuckiness, even being so kind as to give it to my parents as well.  Generosity has its limits.  :)  

I've never had a flu shot, and I've often wondered why people (people who are generally healthy and not at any particular risk) would get one.  After all, how bad could the flu be anyway?  Let's just say that now I understand why someone might get a flu shot!  Fortunately, it wasn't the stomach flu with lots of vomit to clean up; but the fevers and aches and chills and cough and fatigue, etc. were exhausting, draining, painful, and lingering.  I'm used to getting a little bug, feeling poorly for a few days, then basically being back to normal.  But not with this particular sickness.  It felt like it would hang on forever.  So my high hopes for January were lowered when I realized that a few weeks of the month were basically erased because of illness.

And then...

We got better!  And life glided on, with mostly smooth sailing.

We homeschooled.  (One of the many advantages of homeschooling is that you can still do it--at least, some of it--when the family is sick, so there's not a big pile of work that needs to be made up when the students recover.)

Jeff took the three big boys individually out for breakfast, each on their own Wednesday morning.

We moved more of my parents' stuff into their "new" house.

We (the four of us who were feeling up to it) went to a potluck at the Sacras.

Tobin had a birthday.

Violin lessons began again for Josiah, as did choir.

I went out for dinner with Julie, Misty, and Lindsey; girls' night out is always fun.

I started this new blog.

Snow fell, and we played in it.

I made good progress in cleaning off the porch (a catch-all spot for a huge assortment of mostly junk with a few important things thrown in).

Misty and her husband Chris had us over for dinner in their new home.

We traveled long distances for church services and continued to ponder where God is leading us.

We went to the library, we fed our animals, we got warm by our woodstove, we gathered around our table for nourishment and companionship.

One thing that we didn't do much of this month was extending hospitality to others; it was actually the "quietest" month in that regard that we've had for quite a long time.  Sickness will do that.  I've learned, in fact, that when sickness settles over our household, it's also possible to invite peace to descend with it:  peace that comes from canceling (albeit reluctantly) previously-scheduled obligations, peace that comes from clearing the calendar and relishing the white space on it where ink usually is, peace that comes from remembering that God knows exactly what is going on in the little bodies of the sons we love so dearly and He holds each of them--and us--tenderly in the palm of His hand.

And the peace that comes from extra naps and extra snuggles and extra love being doled out along with the cough medicine?

That's awfully nice, too.  :)