I learned that ...

So the P-Blakes have been bunkered down for about 5 days now, with various flus being passed around the house. First Noah, with projectle vomiting. Then Lauren got it before Noah recovered, leaving yours truly as Mr. Mom caring for two sicklings. Now I'm just now recovering from a 12 hour vomit flut that turned into some kind of "no energy" scenario after that. I just laid in bed and slept a bunch. Well that was below average.

So what did I learn so that it wasn't a wasted experience? I'm glad you asked. I learned that you can fall behind and catch up during an illness. In 4 days of being out of commission, we're swamped to get ready for Christmas, while at the same time I was able to catch up on some soccer news.

I learned that I am NOT gifted at being a full-time mom. I remember laying down in bed once at around 4pm, and I realized it had been four hours straight of walking around the house taking care of my loved ones. I was exhausted. Then when I realized that was only a half-day's worth of work, my brain joined the exhaustion party just thinking about it. It's great to have a new level of respect and love for my wife who takes care of us every day. She is a wonderful mom, to be admired by all, using her gifts to raise him up to be a mighty warrior. Noah's even falling asleep relatively soon after we lay him down now.

I learned that if you sleep all day, you may end up being awake from 3am-8am. And THEN fall back asleep.

I learned that Brooks knows a lot about enzymes.

I learned that Tom can step up the plate even if I bail out on him and a church meeting at the last minute.

I learned that Eric will re-arrange his schedule at the last minute in order to fulfill a commitment that I made (which had nothing to do with Eric).

I re-learned how much better health is than sickness. But maybe the Lord felt I needed a reminder of how helpless and prideful I am. Isn't it amazing that He loves someone like me despite my flare-ups of arrogance. I need some revelation on how to love arrogant people.

I learned that Mark is wise to stay downstairs when there are this many germs on the main level.

I learned that Talkative Jim, with his brilliant home-owner ingenuity, used his leaf blower to clear snow off his driveway. Now my leaf blower is the cheap kind, but my leaf mower isn't! It's the strongest blower on the block, so I'm excited to try that next time. Just have to do it before anybody drives on it.

I learned that Tom shoveled my driveway on his own initiative. What a guy.

I learned that Harrison can shovel our entire driveway in under 20 minutes all by himself. He proved to be a good solo worker for a kid who does his best when others work alongside him.

I learned that the human body isn't designed to be in bed that many hours - it stiffens up in odd places.

I learned that Arthur Burk has more good teaching, and don't be surprised when you realize he's directing you towards ancient Jewish thought ... even if he doesn't realize it.

I learned that smelling the vomit in the toilet makes me want to vomit even more, so giving myself a courtesy flush after the largest upheavel of the session often helps relieve the gag reflux.

And finally, I learned that Lauren is much better at serving me while I'm sick than I am at serving her while she's sick. Add that to the list of things I need to die to self about.

So in sickness and in health, just remember ... a good spouse like Lauren, and friends like I have, makes life more enjoyable during both of those seasons.