What's That Like?

I may have mentioned in a comment over on Raechelle's blog that I've spent so long being a caregiver that I've really forgotten what it was like to be taken care of myself. I'm normally stoic out of necessity, because like any single parent, the buck stops with me. If I get sick, I just have to weather it myself. Sometimes one of the kids will bring me something, but in general I muddle through alone.

There was one time in the whirlwind relationship with Jamie when I was knocked flat by a migraine and she came over to help the kids clean the kitchen.

But aside from that and the rare maternal moment from Sam before she was diagnosed, I've not had the kind of healing energy I really crave from a partner.

So it was truly momentous, surreal and altogether wonderful when Raechelle took some extra time at lunch and brought us a stockpile of soup, 7-up and cough medicine. I know this is what she's about - she's a natural nurturer, and that's one of the things I find attractive about her. But I've been giving so long I'm not used to receiving. What is to her a simple gesture is to me a pretty big deal, and given time, I'll probably get used to it more - but I don't think I could ever take a quality like this for granted. After a short visit, she headed back to work. I made sure she knew she was appreciated.

Passed out most of the afternoon on the sofa and awoke to the UPS guy knocking on the door. Found a big box on the porch. From Randy. An Atari Flashback 2. How cool is that?? Dude... PONG!

And then Kayleigh made dinner, which was like a triple bonus! I mean, if you gotta be sick... right?

Hopefully I'll be over this crud tomorrow so we can have a decent screening of Behind Closed Doors.