Lent has begun

I believe that God has asked me to develop greater compassion this Lent. Ash Wednesday night, already a little cranky from fasting as much as a 4 and a half month pregnant woman can, Emmanuel came down with diarrhea with a cramping stomach that wouldn't let him move from my arms nor sleep. Now, I'm from hardy stock and hardly ever get sick, so after marrying Daniel (who tends to have a weak stomach, get headaches fairly often, and is more susceptible to illnesses than me), I had to learn to “care for the sick.” But with kids, wow, do I ever need to have more compassion. You can't just tell them to go take a nap. If they want to nurse nonstop, you gotta just face it that you're not going to get much done today and sit down to let them nurse. Emmanuel started feeling better after about day 2 of an injection twice a day (Nurse Brother Damiano graciously came over to the house to give these, even at the risk of making Emmanuel cry whenever he sees him for the rest of his life.). But at that same time Juan Pablo started with fever, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. Thankfully he can tell me exactly what's the matter or how he feels or what he wants. My favorite is when he would come up to me and say, “Momma, I need to stay with you.” In a day or two they will be pictures of health once again. I can only hope that my heart has grown a bit in compassion through these days of constant holding, getting up serveral times a night to soothe, coaxing down medicines, and cleaning up accidents.