~by Chris Lenshyn

Perhaps it is an undeniable parenting truth; whether it is a good day, whether it is a bad day, whether it is a day filled to the brim with the mundane, we are still the parents of our little (or big… or midsized) bundles of joy.

I had a day that was, well horrible. The day previous to “the bad day” I had been experiencing a minor irritating cough which I didn’t think twice about. The cough got progressively worse, but still I pressed on in dire fear of falling behind at work. I guess I was ignorant enough to think that pastors can’t get sick or everything will fall apart.

So I pressed on to my meetings, my writing, my visits and my administration coughing and sneezing and pushing forth like a brave soul. My evening was much of the same, filled with supper time with the family, a couple church meetings, then home again for some rest. I even went to bed a little bit earlier. I beautifully closed my eyes THEN MORNING HAPPENED.

I opened my eyes like any other morning, but like every other morning it was not. While I coughed, it was like a hammer was hitting relentlessly against my head. My nose was stuffed up and I could not even sit up. I was sick, and down for the day. I called in sick to work and got ready for my day in bed.

In light of the brutality of my day, I was reminded of three things while lying upstairs listening to my kids who kept my wonderful wife busy:

· My eldest son came in to my room periodically to see how I was doing. On the surface it was sweet, but every inch of me wanted to grumpily ask him to “GET OUT!” But somehow, on this really bad day, I managed to say thank you nicely even though I was extremely annoyed. As I reflect on it now, I see that my son is a care-giver. It is a beautiful thing in which to participate.

· Single parents need our full support. It is not lost on me that I have a wonderful wife who took care of me and the kids on this really bad day. In between my sleeping, I reflected on the dire situation I would be in if I was a single parent. Our single parent families need our help.

· Everyone needs rest. Somehow my youth event went on without me, and it went very well. My wife survived. I survived, though I am still sick. But I cannot remember the last time I was in bed all day. Though my back hurt from our horrible mattress, it was so relaxing. Everyone needs rest.

So, there it is. I hope this blog post made sense. I am slightly indebted to my cough syrup for getting me through this.

What do you learn on your bad days?