Service

My husband has had the flu this weekend. It always stinks to get the flu, but sometimes I think it stinks more for him than the rest of the world. He has Addison's Disease, and his body reacts terribly to fevers, and on top of the fever, achiness and congestion that come with influenza, he gets dizzy, cloudy-minded, nauseous, hot and cold flashes, and he doesn't sleep. That said, neither do I. He has been driven into comas twice in the past, that started with flu or some kind of fever. Knowing this, there is always an extra layer of worry when he gets really sick. I try to stay positive and he usually copes really well, but there is always that underlying question of "what if it happens this time..." This is not my beautiful thing of the day, and I'm not saying it to show weakness in my husband. He is very strong and amazing, he handles adversity like a champ, and he never complains. I'm just giving you an idea of where we were coming from when our "beautiful thing" showed up. We were all tired, our kids had not napped and were cranky and busy and out of control, Brian was still feeling yucky (though better to the day previous), and I was trying really hard to be strong, but feeling really weak and whiny inside.

Anyway, our neighbors across the street  knew that Brian was ill. The parents stopped by just to visit and see how he was doing, which was very thoughtful and much appreciated. However, the most beautiful thing today was the sound of snow shovels on our driveway. It had been snowing heavily for a few hours and we had at least 4 inches of new snow on the ground when our neighbors stopped by. A few minutes later, I just happened to walk past our front door and hear a scraping sound. Looking out our front window I saw 2 young men working with their dad to clear our driveway, front stairs and walk. It was the sweetest, most thoughtful act of service. I could have gone out to shovel, but it would have left Brian inside with two fussy kiddos. I'm sure they knew how much we would appreciate not having to do that. Service is beautiful. I feel grateful and loved. I believe this family was inspired to lift us up at a time that had been particularly difficult, without really knowing how difficult. I'm grateful they listened to the prompting to help us. I hope to pay it forward soon.