Here I
am, towards the end of our Spring Break. While the week has been enjoyable, it
wasn’t what I expected. I did manage to read a lot, write some, spend time in
my pajamas. On Wednesday, the boys were healthy enough to go on a shopping trip
to get some clothes. All of that was great.
On the
other hand – there has been the unexpected. Both boys had the stomach flu. We
canceled sleepovers, friends coming over, short trips to Champaign. We rested,
pushed fluids, and had lazy days.
Luke tried
to return to normal routines a bit too quickly – three days after his bout he
went to a friend’s house for a sleepover last night. Several hours later, he
came home. He and I watched the NCAA tournament and talked about how badly he
wanted to go to his friends, but how horrid it is to feel sick when you are not
at home. My heart tugged, I knew how much he had looked forward to it. He had
been packed to go at 11 am and wasn’t going over until 6pm.
Instead,
he and I watched basketball together for the next hour and a half. We joked
about our brackets, talked about friends, discussed the books I had read that
day, and more. When it was time for bed he wasn’t sad anymore. He said he
missed his friend but it ended up being an ok night. (OK was as high as he was
going.)
I think
that is the right attitude to have. Luke can easily get in a funk. He and I
have had many conversations in his ten years about how we choose our attitude.
We can choose to look for the good or the bad in any given situation. By no
means is he great at this, yet, but he is slowly improving.
While I
consider myself a pretty positive person, I can be negative as well. And
negativity breeds negativity. When I’m grouchy and complain a lot, all I seem
to see is the negative around me. When I start looking for what is good around
me – positive elements are everywhere.
So I thank Luke for this lesson – as I reminded him to choose his attitude, I reminded myself as well. No, our spring break isn’t what I thought it would be, but maybe it is what we needed? More time by ourselves at home. More time to just be. Come to think of it, I think this has been the perfect break. Thanks, Luke.
