Let's hear it for the boy!

Three weeks ago I marched into the pharmacy and bought out all the Nyquil, Dayquil, Tylenol Flu and Mucinex in the store.

I went up to the counter to dump my sorry lot of snot/cough inhibitors and looked at the girl. “We’re sick.” I said.

“You and the rest of the town.” She says. “Everyone says it lasts FOREVER!”

“Tell me about it! I’m on day six!”

Just thinking about it makes me snort. Day six! Six days! Phlep! That is nothing!

I’m on week four now…and I know you all will believe me, as I am almost always only honest…that I almost died from this thing. The only thing worse was the swine flu I almost died from a few years ago.

It was one of those things that got worse every day. And the worse my symptoms? The more medicine I ingested. Makes perfect sense, right? I needed to function! I am a mother! I do not get a vacation!

Well my body told me otherwise.

It turned into fever, chills…coughing…coughing…coughing….chest congestion.

I was a a mess. There was seriously a week where I was completely out of commission.

Ryan to the rescue.

Sidenote: Ryan is my husband and he is a funny guy. He is either the life of the party, or he is the guy standing by himself in the corner. If you click with him…he’ll do anything for you. It goes with his upbringing. He is an undying friend and lifelong confidant if you make the cut. Thank the Good Lord I’ve made the cut!

He took care of me and the family like nobody’s business! He cooked, he cleaned, he picked up the boys from school every day, he did all the daytime and nighttime checks and he took care of me!

He never once complained.

It all came to a head for me last Monday. I had a conference call about the TCOYD conference on Saturday and told Amy, “Yeah! I’m totally doing better every day!”

(COUGH COUGH)Lie(COUGH COUGH)

That night the chills were so vicious I thought I was going to knock my teeth out. I became a heap of crying mess…hyperventilating that I’d never get better. My stomach hurt from all the meds I was piling into myself and I promptly threw those all up. I pretty much laid on the couch and decided I was going to die. When my husband carried me into the doctor’s office the next morning the nurse said, “Wow! You are sick!” She immediately filled three prescriptions.

Antibiotics for bronchitis. Cough syrup with Codeine for my cough. And Soma for the pinched nerve in my neck that TORTURED me every time I coughed.

I made it to the TCOYD Conference on Saturday. But I wouldn’t have done it without Ryan.

Something you should know…through all of this, Ryan had to work.

And something else I forgot to tell you? Ryan was sick with this too.

It is easy to take our spouses for granted…but everyday he took over I thought…”I’m going to make this up to him. Why isn’t he complaining? I love him so much! He is a better person than me!”

I know how lucky I am to have a husband that tells me EVERY DAY how much he loves me.

I know I’m lucky to have a husband that tells me I’m beautiful…even though he is clearly delusional!

I know I’m lucky to have a husband that helps. A husband that two months ago took over the nighttime checks because I couldn’t get up anymore. (Seriously, I couldn’t…I’d turn off the alarm every time without remembering in the morning. He said I’ve clearly reached Alarm Fatigue and he would take over indefinitely if need be.)

Hello…wonderfulness.

I take for granted how blessed I am.

20 years ago today Ryan sent me a heart shaped cake…in the mail. Seriously…I think he sent it FedEx. It was a huge blob of a mess when it got to me, but my roommates and I enjoyed every bite. This story epitomizes the way Ryan is. He may not pull everything off with finesse...but he manages to show you how much he truly loves you.

He is my best friend.

This one is for you my dear Valentine. Thank you for choosing me. Thank you for loving me. This diabetic life would be impossible to navigate without out you by my side.

I love you Ryan! You so deserve a standing ovation for the past few weeks!