Kayla and I had been looking forward to some time together after being apart almost two whole weeks ~ I was in Texas and then she was in the Dominican Republic.  So, last Tuesday we ventured downtown, got frozen yogurt, and then checked out some books at the library.  There are two frozen yogurt shops less than a block from our downtown library (how wonderful is that?), which is great, because as you can see, we don’t agree on who has the best yogurt. Hers is of the multiple flavors, serve yourself, add-you-own-toppings, pay by weight kind (which comes as a pre-mixed liquid in plastic bags and looks like colored water when it melts), and mine is of the local, grass fed cow, creamy, made in house variety.  I mean, I really thought I was raising a more conscientious, discerning dairy and dessert connoisseur, but neither my clear teaching nor my living example carries any weight in the face of the pull-any-lever-of-any-crazy-flavor-frozen-“yogurt”-you-want option.  And you can even insert “dividers” in your cup if you don’t want all those crazy flavors to mix. What an evil scheme. Sigh…

This Mommy-Daughter date downtown was the last time I left the house last week before some sort of plague took me down and out for the count.  It took Kayla out, too, but she bounced back a bit more quickly than her mama.  It started with Cooper the week before ~ fever, chills, body aches, and then a terrible cough.  Five days later he was still down and out and despairing that it was lasting so long.  I thought there might have been a bit of teenage drama involved in his prolonged illness (and a golden opportunity to take some days off from his online SAT prep program), until I came down with the dreadful thing myself. My goodness. 

I could feel the throat tickle on Sunday.  Monday morning, I still pulled myself out of bed for a morning run, but had to turn around early due to fatigue and lack of strength. That afternoon we attended a Memorial Day cookout from 3-10pm and I wasn’t feeling so great there, but thought I might be escaping with just a touch of what Cooper had.  Tuesday was the promised yogurt date and it was all downhill from there.

I can not remember the last time I was that sick for that long.  This was no carry-on-with-life-even- though-you-have-a-bad-cold illness.  It was a can’t-pull-myself-out-of-bed-for-two-days-illness. Ugh. I did finish a good book, though, so that was a plus, it’s just that I felt miserable the whole time.  And it’s actually not true that I never left the house.  On Thursday, and in complete denial, I thought I would shower, dress, and walk to the grocery store for a few items. “The sunshine and exercise will do me good,” I thought.  It was a bad idea, and I barely made it home. Back to bed I went ~ this time with an actual fever and awful headache.  I caved and had Kory run to CVS and get me some Advil PM.  I know it’s bad when all my “natural” and “homeopathic” ideals and remedies go straight out the window.  I have a lot of willpower when it comes to following those natural health routines, but not this time ~ or not for very long at least.  Whew.

On Sunday ~ nearly a whole week later, I made it to church in order to begin my new small group. I still wasn’t feeling myself, but definitely better.  It was great to meet with a wonderful group of women and start this book.

There were seven of us total, and we’ll complete this really relevant book over the next 6 weeks.  Maybe I’ll share more about why I chose it soon, but if you’re paying attention at all, I’m sure you can see that there’s been a major cultural shift in sexual ideas and values over the last 50 years, and women have paid a great price for it.  I’ve seen the fallout with my own two eyes and heard it with my own two ears and it. is. heartbreaking. I’m excited to share this book with women and encourage them with the timeless truth that they are “a prize in their own right” (quote from the book) since they have been created in God’s image.

On Monday morning my new running app was greeting me with this message: “We had a great workout last week!  Let’s get back out there today!”  Ha! It’s never had to encourage me to get in a workout, because I have literally never (well, since I started years ago) taken off a whole week from running.  Guess I at least get to experience its many encouraging features. 🙂

And that’s exactly what I did.  I hit the trail Monday morning, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.  I only got in 3.5 miles, but it was a good first day out after being “down and out” for a week, and it was a beautiful morning, too.

So very thankful to being feeling myself again today, and ready to enjoy the summer which seems to have finally arrived today!