Danglish

olympic replays are on right now. they are focusing primarily on the losers: those participants that lost by mere hairs and those that didnt even make it over the first hurdle. the olympic losers made me think back to our christmas. we were in great anticipation of the big day. we decorated or "practiced" christmas weeks in advance, lossed some weight for the big feast, and even were nervous over the spectators that would be watching shelby unravel her first big celebration while all 5 of her senses were in overdrive. all this and more in order to be ranked last place. this years christmas reminds me of one of the hurdle jump races: gun echos, the particpants take flight and while many others are taking their 4th and 5th leaps a swedish girl doesn't quite make it over the first hurdle. in other words: i get sick, followed by my six month year old daughter, followed by my husband. we are losers.

(rewind)

december 21, 10:00pm: shakes come over me while playing xbox with my husband. i have a high fever and deep cough and i can't sleep that night.

december 22, 8:30am: simon calls the doctor to reschedule shelby's vaccination appointment but they tell us both to come in. doctor is a little nervous for my cough sending me home with penicillin. shelby gets her vaccination, we both go to bed with a fever that night.

december 23: this will be the first day we meet with the family. what a shame we can't go! i am sick as a dog, fever is not breaking, but shelby and simon are fine. i am in bed with a deep cough and high fever all day. at about 11:30pm shelby wakes up with a high fever. she barely sleeps the rest of the night.

december 24: my fever subsides but shelby has a fever and is coughing very bad. her nose runs and runs. she only sleeps when she is curled up in my arms. we go to the hospital because all the doctors offices are closed and they say she has a cold. tell us to take a childrens pain medicine. we don't have any so we call around until we find someone who does. shelby sleeps peacefully for about 10 hours.

december 25: shelby is worse. coughing, nose running. we keep giving her pain medicine and plenty of fluids. she is able to take naps, though, and sleeps the majority of the day. she wakes up several times at night to drink.

december 26: shelby is better. we finally decide to celebrate christmas and go to the grandparents. not sure we should have let her sleep outside. she has a high fever again when we get home. now simon too has a cold.

december 27: shelby is sick again. spend the day at home where fortunately she sleeps all day.
goes to bed with a fever.

december 28: go back to the doctors. they are a little nervous about her cough. they put her on penicillin. we are under the impression that shelby has pneumonia. her fever is gone but she is coughing pretty hard.

the following days shelby continued to get better. she still has a slight cough, but we have gotten out of the house in the meantime. i am usually trying (trying) to see the brighter side of things but it was VERY difficult to say to myself "this too shall pass" this time around. especially at christmas when all you want to do is sit around with family and eat all day long.

after embracing the fact that we weren't doing ANYthing during the holidays i started thinking about what was important, which was easy because i didn't have the merry distractions that i normally have during christmas. actually i think i thought about it more this year than any. of course, we are all losers in comparison to the one thing that matters, the one thing that gives us meaning during the holiday in the first place, without this grace from god we would be losers forever more stumbling over more than just hurdles. but because away in a manger a little child was born we have now recieved a way out...a way out of loserdom and sickness and all the other garbage mankind can recieve from this world. i owe my family's health to it. thank god for jesus...else i would be bitter ice cold angry right now.

after i watched the olympic replays i listened to an interview with the swedish hurdle jumper. she, despite her loss, was looking ahead. i lift my head up, not as high as if none of this had happened, but just enough to see some hope:) to see more pictures please go to my facebook's christmas album . i havnt had time to make an album:( hope all of you had a blessed christmas.