| The Best Thing |
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| 09:59pm 18/02/2008 |
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Being so sick for over a week was a nightmare. My throat initially hurt so much that I couldn't swallow food. After seeing a doctor and having medications prescribed, I reacted to the pills and couldn't keep anything down. My weight and my energy dwindled. I missed day after day of work. Ryan's mother drove thirty minutes to pick up my prescription and bring it to me. Two friends from church, Shelley and Allison, stopped by on different days to bring me juice, soup, tea, Sprite, and get-well balloons.
Ryan said he felt helpless tied up at work, but I felt that even if he had the time, he would have been too afraid to see me in case he got sick as well. After I called him on it, he cancelled his evening obligations to come over and make me a grilled cheese sandwich. It was the first food I kept down in two days.
He stayed with me, even braving my illness enough to share the bed, only to awaken to me rushing into the bathroom to vomit. He didn't come to my aide, probably because he didn't know what to do. I had no problem telling him. "I really need you to step up and be the man and take care of me right now. I hate that I can't care for myself, but after all the patience and support I've shown you I hope you can return the favor now that I really need it."
He stepped up, and he was the man. He called to check in on me when he was at work, and he came over each night to be with me. While it was difficult for him to understand how he could possibly be useful when he couldn't actually heal me, I assured Ryan that his presence was enough to calm me down. Knowing I wasn't left to my own devices and that I was in the company for someone who really cared for me was of tremendous benefit.
Ryan promised to make me a Valentine dinner as soon as I was well, and that the Sunday after his competition was going to be a day with just the two of us. After church next weekend, he is taking me out to lunch. Then we're going to the Discovery World Museum (a place I've never been), then bowling, then finally home to relax on my couch and watch a movie before he makes me dinner again.
I went home this past weekend, eagerly awaiting my lovely Sunday dinner from Ryan. I got to see Christie on her birthday, and she invited me to dine with her family. It felt good being part of a sense of togetherness again, after being quarantined all alone in my apartment for so long. My parents were doting, almost to the point of being sickening when I made efforts to leave Sunday morning during a snow storm. Mom actually sobbed and held me close, pleading me not to go. My dad insulted my intelligence because of my decision, claiming that I lacked all common sense. Somehow things righted themselves before I left. I even got to see little Keagan for a few hours.
Ryan gushed a sigh of relief when I told him I was back in the area. He knew the roads had been very unpleasant, and that the commute had taken almost twice the time it normally does. He picked me up and we visited the grocery store to pick up items for dinner, then cuddled on my couch for hours. He just held me close, happy to have me home and well. He even have me a Valentine card that played "As Time Goes By," and inside he wrote: "To put it simple--- You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. Thanks for everything. I love you. Ryan."
I had to help him with dinner, but afterwards I got a foot massage without even having to ask. And he hates feet! My feet aren't bad, but knowing that he voluntarily touched my feet despite his abhorrence of them in general was quite meaningful. That's true love right there... foot-touching. |
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