This Valentines was unlike any other I have ever had. It was, by far, the most romantic my husband has ever been, which is saying a lot because I married a very romantic man. For you to fully understand and appreciate this evening, we need to start the story 2 weeks ago. Our daughter needed braces. Keep in mind that she is 7. So last Wednesday, I took her in the get braces. It was not a good experience. She cried. Not throwing a fit cry but that heart breaking, big tears flowing down her face cry. She asked me to ask them to take them off. She told me she didn't want to wear them. She told me how badly they hurt. To top it off, they put a pile of glue on the bottom side of her back teeth to prevent her mouth from closing all the way. Which means that she is unable to chew food. Yes. This has been terrible. She was with me all day because she was in so much pain she couldn't go back to school. She went the next day but I went down for lunch to help her eat. Then we made it to the weekend. Sunday morning at 3:30, I hear her door open and close so I got up to check on her and she was crying in her room. I immediately felt her head and she was running fever. She told me that she didn't feel good. So, we put her in our room, start her on Tylenol and cold rags. Got her fever down and then, of course, the Doctors first thing Sunday morning. They swabbed her for strep and it came back positive. I asked if they wanted to check for the flu as well but they were satisfied with those results. So, we got home and for 3 more days, on antibiotics, she ran a constant fever and got worse, not better. Wednesday morning, we were the first patients our wonderful pediatrician saw. One look at her and he confirmed the strep diagnosis but added Strand A flu to the mix. Sure. Why not? Flu. So then we started on Tamiflu, antibiotic and alternating Tylenol and Motrin. For another 3 days. Then, she woke up fever free but was having a hard time walking. She came crawling out of her room crying the hardest she had cried yet because her legs were hurting her so badly she couldn't put any pressure on them. The flu had settled in her tiny legs. Ok. Awesome. She is 7 and she is tiny. Enough is enough. Her mouth hurts because of the braces and she can't chew anything because her mouth is propped open. She is on antibiotics and Tamiflu and pain killers and fever reducers and now she can't walk. Seriously? We mad it through that day and all seemed to be turning around.
Until, Carson woke up in the middle of the night running fever. Yes indeed. You read correctly. He got the flu. The saving grace is that our pediatrician started him on Tamiflu the day before, just in case. Never the less... here we were again. So, he ran fever all day. Checked on him in the middle of last night and it was 101.7 and he kept telling me he didn't feel good. He moved into our bed and started on the cold rags and alternating meds. Then, we woke up and it was Valentines Day.
In this middle of all of this chaos, Mike had kept the kids for a couple of hours and I was able to Valentines shop for them so they woke up to a houseful of gifts. My mom, grandmother and sister had all been bringing them presents all week because of their illnesses. Love our family! My grandmother has been a saving grace this week. Countless trips to store, sometimes 2x a day. She made and delivered several meals for us... I am so thankful. She even drove the orthodontist to hold Campbell's hand while she got her braces put on. Couldn't have made it through these last 2 weeks without her! Back to today... We had a good morning, Valentines surprises on the bar, pink heart shaped pancakes, bacon, eggs and Mim's spaghetti (Carson nor I really care for breakfast but he will eat Mim's spaghetti by the bucketful any time of the day). Then tonight, at 5:30,
Mike sent the 3 of us to my room and told us not to come out till he came and got us. Finally, a knock on the door. The kids and I answered it and there he was, with a towel over his arm telling us or table was ready. We rounded the corner to find a table set up with red plates and red cups. Valentines balloons tied to our chairs. My 3 yellow roses in a vase in the center, Campbell's red rose lad across her plate. A card on my plate. He sat us down and grabbed a note pad and offered us our drinks. We ordered, he wrote it down then went a filled our cups. He then had Bagel bites as an appetizer, which we all loved! Then he had salads, which all loved! Then he served us lasagna and green beans with garlic bread. He had dinner music playing and we had a lovely time. We laughed and talked and visited with our children. Campbell and Carson both said that Daddy was amazing. I agreed whole heartedly. We had planned a date night with reservations and a romantic night away. But, I wouldn't trade this memory for a hundred night of reservations. I am sad that our kids sickness is the reason for this adjustment. I always want my kids to be well, however, I know that I will never forget how special he made this night.
Tonight is just another reason I married him. Even if our kids don't remember the details of this night, they will never forget how special their dad makes everything. They will love him and honor him and won't even know why. We will have many Valentines dates just the two of us but the time with our kids is limited and we both know that. It has been a very difficult past 2 weeks and tonight accomplished what it was supposed to. We spend the night with those we love most. If the events of the last 2 weeks had to happen so that I could have this memory, so be it. Don't get me wrong, I am more than ready for our children to be healthy and I believe we are getting there.
It is my prayer that your silver lining is able to shine through whatever storm you are going through. God always works everything out. If you are single and reading this, marry wisely. Marry very wisely.
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