She's Down!

Apparently the bah humbug is trying to work it's way into my Christmas spirit....my back decided to tell me it's a bit overworked after a  weekend of Christmas decorating. With a little bit of a warning, it quit on me. Kaput. And I wasn't even finished with all I had to do. Not a whole lot I could do about it but go directly to the couch and get off my feet. Which meant someone else had to pick up my regular workload. This could prove to be very interesting.

I didn't really need to be doing anything for the afternoon, so it wasn't hard to be laid out on the couch doing nothing for a while. But come around 5 pm, that's when the real work would begin. Derek would be coming home and dinner was going to have to be started.  I was only allowed to get up for a bathroom break, according to Bob. So it was going to be up to him to now take over for me after his day of working. Mom is here too, but she isn't capable of helping out much anymore. Like I said, this could get very interesting....

I had planned on making soup with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving, so when Bob asked what dinner was supposed to be, I told him he'd have to make the soup. He just looked at me like I was speaking Chinese. "I don't know how to make soup", I heard him say. And so it began.

It wasn't a difficult recipe, but that's relative. Relative to who is preparing it.  I would read him the steps and he would do the work. But that would also mean he would have to find the ingredients. And Bob's eyes don't work too well when it comes to looking for something and actually finding it. It could be right in front of him and he'd never see it. Except for when you put a computer screen in front of him with a program that has a "bug" in it...he has no problem seeing that. But look in the fridge or the pantry for something? Not gonna happen. I was pre-hyperventilating with the thoughts of how Bob was going to find the ingredients he was going to need. Without me actually getting up off the couch. Which he would not let me do. Get me a paper bag, please....

To make a long story short, the soup got made. And it was delicious. And we both survived the ordeal. But something interesting happened in the midst of this ordeal. I learned a big lesson. You see, I'm the kind of person who would just rather do something myself instead of asking someone else to do it. Or to ask for help. It's just easier that way. This situation reminded me of a Survivor episode I saw on TV. The team members were blindfolded while another team member, who was not, called out directions to the members to get them to get through a maze  BY LISTENING.I learned to sit back, let someone else help ME, and that it was OK to let that happen. It didn't make me weak - it humbled me, and gave me a picture of what it's like to have to totally depend on someone else. Like how my mom must feel sometimes. Her independence has been slowly taken away and it hurts. I guess I'm alot like her in that way, not wanting to depend on anyone else and doing everything for myself. Maybe now I have a little more empathy for how she feels, what it's like to ask me for help when she can't do something. I don't want her to ever feel she's a burden, which is how I felt even for a short time. But an even greater reminder came to me: to trust God. Don't take over for God, let Him take care of things. Totally depend on Him for all things. LISTEN to Him, listen for Him. And He will take care of me, of you. So many times I get in the way, and He can't get through to me. Ha, it's amazing how life's lessons come through.


So over the next day and a half, Bob did everything I would have normally done. From making dinner, cleaning up, taking care of Derek (not an easy task!) and getting him off to school and then managing him when he came home; to helping mom out, to making sure the crew got all their treats at bedtime, to turning off the Christmas lights outside and an uncountable number of other things, he did them all. Without complaining. Oh, I heard a few huffs & puffs; but he never said a word. Until I was back up and was able to make dinner and clean up last night. And then he said, "Thank God!".

So I'm back in action again, but am definitely taking it easy on the ol' back. I jokingly said to Bob, in the  midst of him waiting on me, cooking, cleaning up, etc., that "I'm not sure how long it's going to take my back to get better...could be at least a week..."; he didn't that was too funny. Guess he lost his sense of humor for a little while! Anyway, I'm reminded once again, of the many reasons I love this man. Thank you honey, for taking such good care of me, always.