I’ve been sick this last week. Not usually for me. I might be tired, weary, or even run down but I not sick often. It’s a disappointing way to get the rest you need but without being able to really enjoy it.
Sometimes coming home early from work sick can render interesting surprises. One summer day, when this happened, I had just gotten up from a nap, and my son and his boss showed up. Jim is a family friend and has employed all of my four sons for varying lengths of time. It worked well with our home school schedule. Most of the work was in the afternoon, evenings and weekends. It was hard physical labor out in the elements. Needless to say, some of them liked it more than others or maybe it was the decent paycheck they got at the end of each month. Jim pushed them to do their best. They learned a lot from him even when they didn’t enjoy it. Ike worked for him the longest and eventually purchased the business from him. On this particular sick day I sat quietly curled up in a ball on the couch near the hall with the bathroom just behind it. You’ll understand why this is an important detail in a moment. I was home alone but heard their happy bantering as they walked toward the house. Jim walked in first, looking out at Ike and said, “I need to use the little boys room before I go.” I heard Ike respond from outside. Maybe Jim's looking back in Ike’s direction distracted him from seeing me sitting there in plain sight. He walked right past me while I sat silently. Ike came through the door a moment later. Jim loved to sing Christian worship songs and did this often with the boys in the work vehicle. Not a big deal for Ike to hear but when you use songs to move things along while in the bathroom, giving certain phrases a little more emphasis than others, it could be down right funny. Ike stood at the front door smiling as Jim rounded the corner, pulling up on the edges of his work pants. He began to speak to Ike before he turned and saw me sitting there. “Oh…hi… Stacey.” He was obviously embarrassed, and spoke a little faster than normal about needing to head out. I just smiled and said my good bye. Ike, on the other hand, began laughing the moment he closed the door. Someone is always listening.
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