The Very Best Part About Being Sick

Our family has the vomit and eat Jello sort of illness. This is bad because:

I haven’t made my bed for several days because I keep on getting in it and sleeping.
Natalie is on the sofa when she’s supposed to be at school.
Adam has been playing video games for hours when he’s supposed to be at work.
My husband hasn’t showered in days and we share a bed.

I was supposed to put the finishing touches on my novel this week and it still has holes big enough to float the mighty Mississippi through. (Or since it takes place in fictionalized Arlington, Washington- the Stillaguamish.) Anyway, my point is because I have all these people floating around and cluttering up my space, my writing has suffered almost as much as my intestines.

The scriptures say that we can take any adversity and turn it for our good-- "Know thou my son that all these things will give thee experience and shall be for thy good." D&C 122:7 This is hard to do when you’re tired of jello, sick to your stomach, cranky and wondering exactly how to make Sid reconcile to his death (Ghost of a Second Chance- the novel that is semi-finished). But, here’s my attempt.

Good things about being sick:
I can lie in bed and read Sarah Dessen novels all day.
Someone else will clean up the dog’s vomit. (Did she just feel like she had to participate? Or is she sharing our virus?)
No one cares if dinner doesn’t happen.

But, I think the really best part about being sick for me is realizing how much I love my real, healthy life. I love praying with my family before they leave home and begin their busy days. I love running in the canyon as the sun rises. I actually like cleaning my house- rubbing lemon oil into the furniture and squirting the mirrors with polish. I love sitting down with my computer and spending time with characters I find interesting and exasperating all at the same time. I enjoy sitting with my family around the dinner table and talking about what happened during our busy days.

And all of that begins again tomorrow, maybe, hopefully, and if not tomorrow, then soon. And that’s the very best part of being sick—realizing how amazingly wonderful it is to be healthy.