Spring 2014: Our hope to have some normalcy in life was delayed thanks to less traumatic circumstances such as lice, a flooded yard and basement, 2 more Lyme disease diagnosis’ (me and Anders), and a roach infestation. (Apparently we have roaches in Western Wisconsin?!?) And although we were frustrated to the MAX, Nathan and I were able to keep a sense of humor through it all. One night I joked that it was like the plagues of Egypt! “What’s next for us? Boils?”
After having an especially stressful day dealing with water in our basement I decided (once things were somewhat under control), to take the kids to the beach for a much needed break and some fun. We had a great couple of hours enjoying the lake (see above photo), and then headed for home. It was then that the itching started. Almost at once, all three kids started complaining of it. I sent them all to the shower with some Ivory soap. I immediately wondered about the possibility of chiggers or swimmer’s itch.
Sure enough, the next morning, Carson, Ella and Anders woke up with a terrible rash. And when I compared it to pictures on the internet, I knew immediately that my hunch was correct. The boys were evenly peppered in tiny red dots all over their body. But poor Ella had it much worse. Her dots were about the size of quarters and gave her terrible discomfort. It WAS like the plagues! But instead of freaking out about one more challenge to deal with in our crazy, messed up, parasitic life, all I could do was bust out laughing, (there may have been some pointing involved too) as my poor kids itched and scratched and had a completely miserable day.
Pretty soon, the kids began to snicker and the laughter was contagious. Our family was a real living sitcom. We HAD to laugh- Otherwise we might cry!
The Bible says in Proverbs 17:22, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.” And Ecclesiastes talks about there being “a time for tears and a time for laughter”. When you can know for sure that this world and all its troubles are only temporary, then it IS possible to step away from whatever circumstance is “bugging” you (e.g. lice, ticks, roaches) and somehow see the “funny” in it. Speaking from experience, a good, hard laugh (so hard you snort or even pee a little) will make you feel better- I promise!