I arrived at my normal 8:30, expecting the usual “Mimmie’s here!” as 38 lbs. of little boy slammed into my legs. However, the house was quiet, and Emmie let me know that Brody was still asleep.
“He had an ‘off’ day yesterday at school, Mom. I think he’s just tired.”
Then she left for work.
I tidied up. Threw in a load of laundry. Did some of my own banking online.
Checked the video monitor. Sound to sleep.
Read my book. Checked Facebook. Emptied the dishwasher.
Checked the video monitor. Sound to sleep.
This went on for three and a half hours. THE BOY SLEPT UNTIL NOON.
Of course, I actually went into his room several times to check on him. He was breathing, and had no fever, but was just OUT.
Finally, when he woke up, he reached for me and laid down on my shoulder for a solid 15 minutes before he asked to eat and have a “drank.” (He’s being raised Texan). But right after he ate, he said he was cold and headed for the couch, where he asked me to sit under the “covers” with him and watch “Kid Story.”
Which we proceeded to do for the next three and a half hours.
Every time I had to get up to let the dog out or in, or go to the bathroom, or really even just moved, he would cry, but the moment I pulled him in close, cuddling him under the blanket right to my side, he would calm.
He never ran fever, but by all reports after I left, he continued his “off” behavior, and he has a doctor’s appointment this morning, with the assumption that it’s going into something (illness has been rampant in his school). As I prepare to head back over today, I imagine it will be a day filled with more of the same.
And you know what? That’s okay.
There is power in touch. We need the comfort of other human beings when we have “off” days, and not just when we’re sick. We need the stabilization that a simple hand on a shoulder can bring, or a simple hug that says we matter. And sometimes, when things are really bad, we need to be pulled in close where we can hear the assurance of another heartbeat under our ear.
Be on the look out for someone in need today.
I’m ready to deliver. Are you?
All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort—we get a full measure of that, too. ~ 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 MSG