Today's Strength

When your little one tucks herself back into bed, you know the schedule for the day is going to change.  Thankfully, the "nurse's office" at Homeschool Schmidt is right down the hallway.  The words, "I don't feel too well, Mommy," always make me shudder just a bit.  I don't think that reading WebMD qualifies me even remotely to having the title of "nurse" or "doctor."  I do, however, have an understanding of the "ripple effect" with illness.  If one kiddo gets something, the chances that the others will get it the next day and the day after that increase exponentially.  I know this because my kiddos swap cups, share food, have their hands in their mouths (have I mentioned that I have a two-finger sucker), and, therefore, share germs probably more willingly than they share toys.  I know now that I pretty much just need to wipe my calendar clean for the next couple of days and brace myself for a whirlwind of laundry...not a whirlwind of lesson plans.  Frantic Clorox Wipe sterilization at the point of one child being sick has proved ineffective in the past, so rather than spread chemicals all over the house where germs have already done their damage, I let my mind wander.  What if Mommy gets sick?  The world will not cease to turn when Mommy gets sick.  Mommy will still be expected to function at her optimum...sick or not.  What if Daddy gets sick?  Big patients are sometimes more challenging than little ones.  Chicken noodle soup and Disney princess or pixar movies don't always make the grade for big patients.  What if I go into labor with Baby #4 and the whole house is sick?  And, then, I stop the madness of a whirling "what if" thought process.  What if I just stop worrying and embrace that a little virus isn't going to bring Family Schmidt down?  What if I count my blessings that our kiddos are typically healthy and that, in the whole scheme of things, a little bug is NOTHING in comparison to what so many families are having to endure with children who have life-threatening illnesses.  What if I reflect for just a moment on Corrie Ten Boom's quote, "Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength.  It's carrying two days at once.  It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time..." We've called in sick today at Household Schmidt, but a three-year-old, twenty-one-month-old, baby-in-womb, mommy, and daddy are all still healthy, so we are not going to move into tomorrow ahead of time.  Right now, we're going to focus on getting our kindergartner better.  Make-up work for school will be no problem, lesson plans will wait, and tomorrow's load doesn't need to be carried with today's strength.