It's been one of those weekends. The kind with coughs, fevers, and body aches; headaches, tummy aches, and worry. The up-all-night parenting gig that any of us with kids have embarked on many times.

This weekend both of our kids went down with Spring Crud like dominoes.
I fell asleep last night with my left hand monitoring a feverish,
coughing three-year old and my right hand on a hot, sweaty, restless
seven-year old.

I think as parents we are all prone to worry (some more than others). But Pete and I are especially gifted worriers. Ever since Sage was very, very sick (just after he turned two) we've inadvertently turned ourselves into professional worriers. Especially when Sage is feverish. I think its a cellular memory of the fear, uncertainty, and worry of that time.

We're working on getting over it, but as parents I'm not sure how any of us truly shake off the really big scares. For parents who have experienced that moment of looking over the edge into a deep, dark abyss with your child, you know what I mean. We never forget, but we work on holding the belief that none of us will ever fall in. We are held in safety and light and needn't look over that precipice again.

That's what we keep telling ourselves and ultimately what we tell ourselves becomes true.

Truth be told, Pete and I held it together better this time than we ever have since Sage was two. We knew everything would work out well. And of course it has. We're
just sick. Plain old ordinary sick.

So for a few days we'll let everything slide. Dishes in the sink, dinner from the coop, all day in our PJ's – all of us. I went to make a cup of tea this morning and there was not a single clean tea cup in the house. I checked the kids cup drawer – empty.

This place is a disaster. I think we need a week off to clean up.

But we're slowly getting back on our feet.

We pulled out our favorite homeopathy book for children to keep fevers and coughs under control and last night Sage and I made some herbal preparations including tea, cough syrup, and a tincture. That moment was really the silver lining. Sage and I sat at the table last night learning about and working with herbs. He created his own custom tea blend (echinacea, licorice root, chamomile, catnip, and of course, sage), and asked me to teach him everything I could about herbs.

I ordered some homeschooling resources after he fell asleep including the game Wildcraft and a two books on herbalism for children. And then I realized that he and I (along with Pete and Lu) and turning our back on that dark abyss and moving toward the light.

Blessings always hide in the messy times. We just need to focus on the gifts and leave the worry and anxiety – as well as the dishes – to take care of themselves.