Every single day, whenever I look at my children, I'm always extraordinarily thankful for them and their health. Even when they are driving me insane, I'm yelling and they're just pushing all my buttons, they are the most precious, amazing little people in the world.
I want to tell you about my three wonderful little people. I'm sure I've said something beforehand, but I just want to gush a bit right now.
First, there is Logan. He is my big, strong, active boy. He's sweet, compassionate, gentle and loving. He's active, competitive and intelligent. He's extremely inquisitive, curious and brave. He's also stubborn, loud and argumentative. He questions many things, pushes back hard when he's in a bad mood, but loves big when he's happy. He struggles a bit with school in the work side of things, but he has many friends and has no problem maintaining lasting, friendly relationships. He's amazing with children smaller than himself and babies think he's marvelous. He's just a huge joy. He was a big baby. 9lbs 15.2oz and 23 inches long. He was the healthiest, happiest, most amazing baby and toddler. When he was three, he became a handful for his inquisitiveness took over and he just got into everything. I have so many funny stories of Logan and his shenanigans. I've had mothers say "I'd have killed him by now!" I just shrug and say "After a while, it just doesn't matter anymore." He's been the ultimate joy in my life and even in the "bad" things, I wouldn't change him for the world.
Second, is my sweet girl Olivia. She's is another sweet, caring, compassionate little girl. Highly social, she adores other children and makes friends quickly. She's very smart, picks up things very quickly and never ceases to amaze me. She's my little mother. She tries her hardest to manage the boys, but rarely succeeds. She's extremely sensitive. She takes many things to heart and she can be hurt quickly. She can be impatient and impulsive, but rarely gets into trouble for doing things that one would consider "wrong". She learned to speak and communicate at a very young age, so she was rarely frustrated in communicating what she needed or wanted. She's also very stubborn and bull headed, stands up for herself easily and doesn't take much crap from anyone. When she was a baby, she too was very easy. But a little more demanding. She was the type who when she wanted something, she wanted it the second she asked for it. That started very young. She and Logan have always been close and Logan adores his sister, but like most siblings, they can fight like cats and dogs. I know though that if anyone ever tries to harm one or the other, I wouldn't want to be that kid. Together they will be rather formidable.
Third. Last, but I can tell you CERTAINLY not least, is Grady. Mr. Bug, Bug-a-loo, and a multitude of other nicknames due to his personality, he is a firecracker. Big, happy, chatty and smart smart smart, this little monster exhausts me on his own. He's active, curious, and smart. He's sweet, cuddly and affectionate. He's learning to be more gentle with other children, but being the smallest and his brother and sister being as big as they are, he can push them around and not move them. That isn't always the case with smaller children. At almost three (!!!!) he is getting more and more understanding of the rules and has shown a real sensitivity for other children and how they are feeling. He tries very hard to keep up on his short little legs to keep up with his big brother and he idolizes Logan. Logan, in turn, is extremely patient with him. They play together very well and are going to be good friends, I hope, when they are older. I think that Grady is going to be the type of child who will need his energy channeled into something productive. While I don't think he will have Logan's attention issues, he is going to be a very active, energetic kid and I'm fairly sure he will find trouble wherever he can.
As you can tell, my kids are my world. There are only four people this important to me. My kids and my husband. They are my world. So when they are under the weather, I'm not a happy camper.
As I've said in this past week, we've struggled with many illnesses. It's been a rough road. With Jeff working away from home, it fell upon me to manage it as best as I could. Thankfully, I have a HUGE support network of friends and family, ready and able to do as much as they possibly can. I'm so incredibly thankful for the wonderful ladies who were able to come to my aid, whether they walked Olivia to and from school, watched the kids while I was at the doctor or hospital, helped me move them around as they needed to.
When one of my children or my husband are sick, the world stops for a short while. I watch and hope that we don't get worse. I do my best to fix the problem, make them feel better. That can mean extra cuddles, cartoons when they want, a treat, whatever I can do to make them comfortable. Sometimes, that's at the expense of my own care, but for a short time, it's okay.
When Jeff is sick, it's almost worse. I don't know how sick he is because he usually just gets quiet and retreats into himself. I've seen Jeff try to work through so many relatively serious illnesses and injuries. It's really hard to see. My most recent and probably serious examples was last summer when he fell off his bike. He bashed his shoulder, got back on his bike and rode for another two hours. Fair enough. He thought it was only a muscle injury. Three weeks later, he found out it was a fractured shoulder! Most people would be down and out for days, weeks. Not Jeff. I've seen him come home from work with migraines so bad, he can barely speak. And he had to be TOLD to come home. So he worries me when he gets sick. He can push it a bit far, and then keep going.
My kids get sick and they are not the same. This past virus has literally knocked my kids onto their butts, hard and fast. Grady never falls asleep on the chair in the middle of the day. Logan never just lays around and is so quiet. Olivia rarely complains of illness unless she's really sick. I've been to the Stollery Children's Hospital twice and I have to say, I'm always faced with how blessed I am, even when they are sick. While they are sick in that moment, I'm always sure of recovery because they are such strong kids.
So now we're fighting something viral. Grady had it last weekend, so not surprisingly, because they share a bedroom, Logan got it too. It definitely hit Logan harder. We're three days in and the fever is still quite prevalent. This morning, after school, Olivia was moody. Nothing different there, but after she came back upstairs from watching cartoons in the basement, I noticed she was getting red cheeks, she was wearing a blanket...crap. She's got it now too.
Prior to my ADHD diagnosis and subsequent treatment, I would be just a quivering mess. I have had a few moments in the past couple days of anxiety. I've managed it very well. Considering the amount of things that have happened in a very short period of time, I'm doing well. I am still anxious, that will never change, but the way I'm handling it is far better than before. I'm very proud of myself.
I'm exhausted. Long nights, lots of worry, times in the hospital and my own health concerns with shingles and a cold, and this last two weeks has been rough. I've survived it, my kids have survived it, but my house...well, that's another thing for another day. For now, focusing on my children, taking care of them and helping them recover, that's my priority. Jeff is home tonight, we can work on it over the weekend.
Now, it's time to go cuddle my girl. She needs her mommy.
No comments:
Post a Comment