Tuesdays Unwrapped

Ours is a sick house.

Monte and I  came home from our trip to Nashville last week to a very sick Ellie with bronchitis and a super high fever.

In a matter of days, two more people in our household were diagnosed with bronchitis.

I am not one of them 

(thankfully).

Yesterday morning my husband decided to start his sick day off from work watching football highlights.

I am not used to having the TV on during the day.

I like it quiet.

So does our dog Nigel.

He hid most of last week to escape the noise 

of Ellie's continuous viewing 

of Hallmark Christmas movies.

Some of them were pretty cute.

I tried to lay low and let Monte recuperate the way he needed to recuperate.

Then he hollered to get my attention 

to tell me 

(get this)

that Kathie Lee & Hoda said to put lip gloss on zippers to get them unstuck.

I told him to turn football back on.

Now.

But I really wanted to drive a stake through his heart.

So I left the house to hand deliver Christmas party invitations.

In the cold.

and rain 

that was starting to freeze.

The fresh air felt glorious.

Later, as McDaniel and I pulled into the drug store parking lot to fill her prescription for bronchitis, her nose started to bleed.

Gush.

She was trying to stop it by shoving tissues up her nostril. But it wasn't working well.

She turned to see if anyone could see her

she is 13

at the same time the guy in the car next to us turned her way while taking a big bite of a pastry with red goopy topping.

[No! I am NOT making this up.]

Later, 

back at home, 

Monte taped part of a "How It's Made" 

and INSISTED I sit down and watch how robots with lasers milk cows and sterilize their utters.

I wanted to hurt him.

Bad.

You know, I do have a point, on this Tuesdays Unwrapped.

 I am becoming keenly aware that my

patience 

and tolerance 

and compassion 

is everflowing for my girls when they are sick.

I am their mother.

But what I have to unwrap

is my lack of all of the above when it comes to Monte.

I try not to verbalize any of it, but I feel it.

Like, down to my toes, feel it.

When he slipped on his black sweat pants and wrapped a blanket around his neck,

for a day of lying down,

I wanted to scratch my eyes out so as to avoid cramps from all the eye rolling that was about to occur.

Because CLEARLY he wasn't giving this day much of a chance.

I talked this over with my neighbors.

This unfair favoritism. 

This select compassion 

when it comes to the members of my family 

all living under the same roof.

My neighbor reminded me that THAT is probably why

"in sickness AND in health"

was included in our marriage vows.

God knew it was going to be tough some days.

She dropped all this wisdom while she wrapped up cupcakes for Monte 

with a cute note to "feel better soon".

So.

Not.

Fair.

OF COURSE, in my daily devotion today, there was this verse from Colossians 3:12:

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, 

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, 

gentleness and patience."

Whoa.

Clothe?

So, as I unwrap this lack of compassion this Tuesday

I need to consciously wrap myself 

all.

up.

in it.

I realize as I read this back, that I am being completely irrational.

On any given healthy Monday,

if Monte were to mention slapping some lip gloss on Ellie's stuck ski coat zipper I'd think,

"You funny, nutty guy--that's brilliant!" 

And we'd laugh.

And laugh.

Forced to watch cows getting milked by R2D2
after a healthy day with no one home from school and/or work?

"That is soooo interesting in a creepy 

'what-did-they-do-with-all-the-farmers?' kind of way."

And we'd laugh.

And laugh.

Today is a new day.

I am going to try to clothe myself with compassion for my husband's illness.

And hope that one day I will look back on all this and laugh.

And laugh.