Laryngitis... An Unexpected Blessing

Today started just like any ordinary day. I woke up and helped the kids get ready for school. I even made pancakes for breakfast (their favorite). Things went rather smoothly and I was excited to get the things on my "to do list" done in the four hours I had while my #4 was in school. Well... little did I know that I was going to lose the one thing I needed the most to get things done. By 10:00am my voice was completely gone!

I cleaned my house and ran a few errands, including cashing a check at the bank. That is a very funny story. I tubed the teller an envelope with the check and driver's license inside. I wrote a note on the outside of the envelope that read, "I have laryngitis so I can't talk. I just want to cash this check. Thank you." However, it backfired on me when the teller just turned the envelope over (without reading it) and proceeded to take out the check and my driver's license. I tried to motion to him in the car, but he never looked up. He then asked me, "How would you like that? Any particular way?" I shook my head no. He then tubed back my money and license in ANOTHER envelope. It wasn't until I was about to drive away that he noticed the note on the envelope and started to laugh. He apologized and then said, "I had that a few years ago and it's awful." I just nodded in agreement and smiled.

You don't realize how much you need your voice until you lose it. I went to pick up my son at preschool and the kids were in the process of playing with a huge tub full of shaving cream. I wanted to tell the teacher so badly how my son has managed to empty out TWO cans of shaving cream and make a HUGE mess in the past couple weeks at home. I then noticed that one of the BOYS was wearing pink high heels and a glittery yellow cape. He had shaving cream all over his arms and hands. It was the funniest sight. I wanted to say, "I can only imagine if his mom came through that door right now." I will have to remember to say something about that tomorrow.

When I got home I realized that I wouldn't be able to do our usual game of flashcards, and I started to think of things we could do that wouldn't involve talking. In the end, we were able to spend a nice relaxing afternoon watching our favorite shows on t.v. while I listened to him speaking. Today I had a "light bulb" moment. I realized that sometimes I just need to listen. I listened to my son as he answered Dora's questions. It was a neat thing to see. He actually understood what was going on and was interacting with the t.v. I had not noticed that in the past. When Go Diego Go came on afterwards, it was the same thing. He was able to answer ALL the questions at the end about the animal they discussed in the show. It was very reassuring.

One of my sweet friends offered to pick up my kids today and so I actually was able to take a short nap while my #4 took his. That was such a treat! Usually I don't take naps in the afternoon because I am worried about oversleeping and being late to pick up my children so I don't end up falling asleep. I was awakened by the doorbell ringing numerous times. My #2 loves ringing the doorbell. I opened the door and was greeted by three smiling faces. My oldest gave me a bear hug and asked me if I was feeling okay. I whispered in his ear that I had laryngitis and so I couldn't talk. He was so worried about me. My #2 asked me if it hurt. I told him that it didn't except when I coughed or talked. He kept asking me specific questions about why it hurts and exactly what causes laryngitis, etc... (Could we possibly have a future doctor?) Once his curiosity was satisfied, he told me that he had homework and quickly went to work. That was a first!

It was such a nice afternoon. There were times when I was tempted to yell or raise my voice, but I quickly realized that I couldn't. Instead I whispered in their ear and that's all it took. In a weird way, my laryngitis was an unexpected blessing today. I received unexpected help from a dear friend, my children were sweeter to me since they knew I wasn't feeling well, and even my husband pampered me a little more today. Lastly, I learned that sometimes a whisper can be more effective than raising your voice. That in itself made it all worth it!
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Take time to see and appreciate
the blessings in your life. If
you can, record them. In time
you will have volumes!
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