Ode to Excuses

For those who have been faithful to read my blogs, I humbly apologize for being absent in my monologues.  Things have been quite hectic and I have been unable to write as much (or at all) as I have wanted to over the past few weeks.  I only hope to be able to do better with my diatribes and let my thoughts be made known more often than I have most recently.

First came my own sickness, during which I was confined to bed for a few days.  Then came the Christmas holidays and all the preparations they entailed.  Shortly thereafter, the next day, as a matter of fact, my mother came to visit for a couple of weeks.  You would think that this in and of itself would give me more time to exercise my fingers upon the keyboard.  But three days of laundry and cleaning from the weeks of my illness, along with a trip on the horizon, I felt it was necessary to place my energy elsewhere.

On the 29th of December, my husband and I took a northern road trip to a friend's wedding in Pennsylvania, and further up toward the Canadian border where I got my first true glimpse of Niagara Falls, both from New York and from Canada.  That trip will be in a forthcoming blog as my fingers are itching to tell the story.  Two days later, we began our trek back to the South and were home by that Monday night.

Visiting with my mother, accompanied by getting certain goals met during her stay here, prevented me from contemplating my life at the computer.  I learned how to use weaving sticks and wove a scarf.  I finally got all the clothes put away.  I also got my room in order, which was so desperately needed.  Near the end of her stay, this last Saturday, my firstborn came down with a fever of 102.

This, I wish, was the extent of Nyssa's fever, but it only climbed higher as Richard stayed home Sunday with the children, all of whom had high temperatures by time I came home.  The days blended together at this point, as I stayed up with Nyssa through the night, desperately trying to keep her fever to come down from the 106.2 recorded on the thermometer.  Snow, rain, and ice be ignored, I took both Nyssa and Benjamin to the emergency room on Monday.  The elements had, unfortunately, closed down the pediatrician's office and the local emergency center for children, so I had to drive downtown in the minivan to Scottish Rite.

Four hours, some ibuprofen, and x-rays later, we were sent home with instructions to keep doing what we were doing to keep temperatures down as much as possible.  Mom was supposed to go home Monday, but all flights were canceled.  When all the children had fevers that surpassed 103, we took them out in the snow for a few minutes to bring their body temperature down.  It worked, for a while, but we continued to alternate between giving them acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

Mom left Tuesday.  Richard took her since the roads were sheets of ice.  She got home safely and everyone here missed her.

The last couple of days, I've continued to work on keeping fevers down.  Thankfully, though no child's temperature is quite normal, none are climbing higher than 102.5.  School has been canceled due to inclement  weather all week, so at least they haven't been counted absent.

So, to honor all the excuses:  The dog ate my homework; I had a flat tire; my brother made me do it.

Many obstacles come against us each and every day, trying to keep us from accomplishing that which is important.  Some of those obstacles are things over which we have control.  Some we may even place ourselves.  Sometimes boulders are placed in front of us by others.  Still other barriers are placed by nature, such as the snow and ice.  Sometimes we are kept from our goals.

But what do we do with those walls?  If what we are doing is good and worth it, then we fight through, over, around, or under them.  It may take a while to get back on track, but it can happen.  Sometimes we have to prioritize which goals we will attempt to attain first and take them one at a time, one day at a time.  Until the final trumpet is sounded, we still have the chance to overcome.  Everyone falls down, everyone.  But we all have the chance to get back up again.  So, here I am, before the computer, giving yet another glimpse into what goes on in my mind and in my life.  I hope to be back tomorrow!