Gabe In a New Light

First of all, for those of you waiting with great anticipation for my report on how Overeater's Anonymous went, you probably will have to wait another week. I"m not bailing. I got sick the other day and it still has me knocked for a loop. This morning I was feeling some better, so I went and did some basic upkeep. I fed the kids, got them juice, took the trash out, minor stuff like that. That about did it. So I'm back in my chair, where I've spent the majority of the last two days. I alternate between sweating and freezing.

But, I'm not alone. All the kids are sick too. You have to understand, this is really strange for us. We are very blessed that our kids do not get sick very often. In fact, with the exception of the food poisoning incident at Woody's this summer, the kids have not been ill since early Spring. They have really good immune systems, I guess. But this one has gotten everyone in the house. (Heather had it last week - even had to miss a quiz at school.)

The really interesting thing that I have seen through this illness is just how sweet Gabe is. I'm sure some people may think he is a little high maintenance. Until our current church, he has never liked church nursery. He co-sleeps. He wants his television shows on whenever he wants them. He's two. But, through this little bout of illness, I have seen a different side to Gabe. He's sick too. He had a fever yesterday and he has a cough just like everyone else - maybe not as bad. But he really hasn't been acting that different. I said yesterday, "He's the happiest most active sick two year old I've ever seen." But then I realized he is acting different.

This morning the older kids were both laying on the couch, watching television. They are both still pretty wiped out and not up to doing much. Gabe slept until 8:45, which is very rare for him. And when he woke up, he didn't demand Blues Clues or Yo Gabba Gabba like usual. He came out and just sat in the chair and chilled out. He drank his drink, ate his waffle sandwich, played with his blocks. Finally, he wanted to watch shows. Instead of coming with the remote and begging like normal, he pointed back to my room (the only other room with a TV) and asked to watch it back there. I was kind of surprised. He never asks for that. We sometimes make him, when other people are already using the main TV. But it was almost like he knew that the kids needed to be out here.

It all clicked in place. He's been really easy going for two days. He didn't crawl all over me yesterday. He didn't pitch a fit to take his nap. He just did his thing and was surprisingly accommodating. (It was a little different story once Heather got home, of course.) All the kids adore each other. They cry when another one gets hurt or cries. They help each other and share very well. Just look at how happy they were to share the illness with each other! It is neat to see those qualities develop as they grow up. Sometimes you aren't really aware of some of your kids' qualities until a trying time brings it to the surface.