"After awhile"

Struck a chord with me....maybe one day I will blog about why, but for today...enjoy this lovely poem.

AFTER A WHILE (Veronica Shoftshall, 1971)

After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept
your defeats
with your head up
and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman,
not the grief of a child

And you learn to build
all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground
is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way
of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.

And you learn
that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...

Then After "after a while" you change and build your hopes again. And pray that maybe this time it will be different. And you hold on to that hope because in the end that's all you really have..

AFTER "AFTER A WHILE"

After 'after a while'
You want to hold a hand not to chain a soul but
to enjoy its company,
and you want someone's lips to kiss,
not because you are lonely but because you are
happy, and you want to give presents
and you want to make promises.

After 'after a while'
You begin to accept your defeats like an adult,
but like a child, will want someone to listen
and care,
and you want someone who will build roads with
you today so maybe you can pave the way for your
future together.

After 'after a while'
You want someone's sunshine and warmth,
but also accept the rain and the cold,
and you want to give flowers picked from your
own garden.

And when your garden is picture perfect,
you want it to be more than a picture
even if it means having to be imperfect
because you want someone in it to stay and to
live.
Then you'll see that there is
such a thing as love...
and that you were made to live in someone else's
garden...
and you'll know that there is more to life than
yourself.

AND NOW...
You realize that no matter how tightly you hold,
if you're meant to let go, you can
And then you will understand that love
gives you reasons to understand
even the most complicated situations
And you will grow older believing that just
because you have convictions
doesn't mean you're always right

You will remember lips because of the smiles
that made your day,
the words that touched your soul, not only
because of the sweet kisses
And as you graciously accept defeat and absorb
the meaning of lessons
learned,
You feel that you are finally being the person
you never thought you'd be

So, armed with courage, strength and confidence,
you will face the world
head on...
With or without an army behind you
Because you know your worth and that alone is an
armore.

The flu...or something like it

We don't do flu shots around here. When Bug was a baby she did get her flu shot but last year and this year we just didn't get it done. I just don't see the point in them. I believe that our bodies can fight most routine illness on it's own and we will be healthier in the long run by letting our immune system do it's job. Last year we escaped the flu, we had other medical problems but the flu didn't make an appearance at our house. This year however....I blame it on preschool haha.

I'm not even sure if it was the flu, it's been years since I've had it, and Bug has never had it. Today, however, she was not feeling so good.

When I picked her up from preschool/daycare yesterday she was the only one there! Now normally this isn't surprising to me because I'm always 5 minutes late picking her up. Alyssa is done at 5 sharp...I'm there at 5:05 sharp...I need to work on that, luckily I literally work a 30 second car ride from her house :) Anyway, yesterday I got there early! Surprised even myself! I was talking to Alyssa, while Bug put her shoes and jacket on and got her school project that they worked on that day (the #7, and a letter but I can't remember which one), and noticed there weren't any other kids parents arriving. I was a little confused and even asked Alyssa if I was later than usual as I double checked the clock, that clearly read 4:45 :) She told me that the other 3 kids had thrown up and had been picked up earlier in the day. She said she hoped Lizzie didn't get sick, and with her weak immune system this past year I was hoping the same. We left and went about our evening, Bug was her normal sassy self, no signs of sickness :)

Fast forward several hours......

I woke up around 6:30am to a text from Alyssa saying that she had the stomach flu so she wasn't going to be taking kids today. Normally that would be a real pain, but luckily I had planned to be out of the office today and out inspecting, Bug could just ride along with me, it'd be a fun day. I fell back asleep and woke up about an hour later to the sound of my poor little girl throwing up :( *insert bragging moment* in the toilet! At least she's got that part down. I can recall 2 maybe 3 times in all of her toddlerhood that I've had to clean throw up off the floor. That girl knows how to get to a bathroom, makes me proud! Anyway, I went in and held her hair back, scratched her back and reassured her til she was done, then we went and climbed in my bed to go back to sleep for another 45 minutes or so....15 minutes later she's running for the bathroom again, so we repeat the whole process.

At this point I'm wondering what in the world I'm going to do about work today, my boss is out of town, the office is in my hands, inspections are due this weekend and have to be done, when I get a text from one of the girls that does inspections for us telling me that she is sick but someone will be bringing her work to me. The other girl that does inspections was going to a different area, it was quite the dilemma. I decided me and Bug had no other option but to go to work. So we got up, got dressed and got in the car to enjoy a day of driving around.

Bug did awesome! We stopped and got a Sprite on the way to help calm her tummy, and she napped or colored the majority of the day. Threw up once, in the bowl I gave her, again proud moment. I cut my 8 hour day down to just the bare necessities and we sped through the work and got home early. Spent the rest of the evening watching movies, coloring, doing puzzles and Bug ended the night doing her favorite thing in the world, taking a bath. She was doing much better this evening, no fever, no throwing up, ate 2 bowls of cereal for dinner and had some juice. She's sleeping soundly and here's to hoping for a good day tomorrow!

I really am blessed to have such an amazing daughter, she's a trooper for sure. I know today probably was not the most fun, especially not her with being sick, but she barely complained. Even though I had to work I think that just being with me for the day helped her feel better. We had a good day and I have the weekend off so we're going to be lazy! Maybe I will get around to posting some pictures of our holidays :)