We’ve been busy the past couple of weeks, busy with a (mostly) childhood illness: chicken pox.  No, it was not fun for them.  But this cloud had its silver lining.  It forced us to slow down and focus on simple things, the way sickness always does: comforting a miserable child just by holding them, letting them sleep on your bed, running baths in the middle of the day, and special mom-and-me movie times while everyone else is out for the evening.

Another upside to this downtime was watching them practice compassion as one child put a cool cloth on a sibling’s forehead, or gave advice about oatmeal baths, or offered to do this week’s kitchen chore for the sick one without asking for a week of kitchen in return.  (This is big, folks.  It means two whole weeks of having kitchen…dishes three times a day, for a family of seven.  Yep.)  And for those moments when one seemed less than compassionate, we had the opportunity to say, “Be kind and patient; your turn is coming!”

Also during this sickness, I had the chance to see the sweet creativity of childhood  when I saw this setup:

My girls’ dolls were “sick” along with them.  The next day, the scene was even more precious: each doll had a sister lovingly looking after her.

Of course, I had one of those moments where you just want to freeze time.  I realized that before too long, the dolls would be set aside, and I would miss all those little things that come with childhood, even during times of sickness.  I thought about how special the little things are, and how quickly they are gone.

Although no mama wants to see her little ones sick, I did appreciate seeing the love they showed each other, and I was reminded to slow down and enjoy the precious moments of childhood.

We certainly don’t mind seeing this cloud go, but I think I’ll try to hold on to that silver lining. 😉

Happy Mother’s Day Weekend…May you be blessed by the little things!