Really??!!

A few weeks ago I got an e-mail from the school nurse.  It was a mass e-mail sent out to all families of school children.  It stated that there had been a lot of pink-eye, strep throat, and mono circulating through the valley schools.  I already knew this and had been diligent in washing and sanitizing my hands multiple times daily while at school.  I was taking massive doses of vitamin C and Airborne.  I was getting plenty of sleep and drinking gallons of water.  I was winning!  I was NOT sick!  I had avoided the "plague."  Then last Saturday evening (on the eve of Spring break, when I would have a week off from daily exposure to the germ-fest that is public school), I felt the beginnings of a sore throat!  WHAT??!!  I upped the rigor of my prevention plan, taking even more vitamin C and drinking more water and napping.  I refused to be sick for my spring break trip to Provo.  And even if I was (I'm not admitting anything) I took enough Advil, Tylenol, and Daytime Cold Medicine to be in complete and total denial and have a wonderful time accomplishing my Provo "bucket list."  By Thursday, when I returned home and scaled back on the meds, I had a nice hacking cough which settled in my chest.  I slept sitting up sucking on cough drops.  By yesterday, Friday, I was sure that my sickness was on its way out.  (Only a slight sore throat and slight lingering sinus issues and headache).  However, this morning I woke up with my left eye sealed shut!!  REALLY???!!!  Where are these germs coming from??!! I haven't been to school in 6 days, and I'm just NOW getting pink eye??!!  No one else in my family has it.  So now I'm changing my contacts, washing towels, and sheets, and hoping that maybe I can get into urgent care today.  (I tried to get in on Monday before leaving for Provo, but it was an hour wait, so I just self-treated and hoped my illness was not antibiotic-requiring strep.) 

*Note: I did have an eye-doctor tell me once that all "pink-eye" medicine was was Neosporin in a drop-form.  He said to just rub Neosporin over your infected eyes like you would eye-make-up remover, for the same effect as prescription conjunctivitis meds.  I've already started that.  Happy Easter!

In other news, and quite ironically, I recently read 2 Nephi 31.  I'm usually pretty faithful about reading my scriptures-OK so I'm super faithful, I really NEVER miss.  But it is harder when schedules are crazy, like with spring break.  So the other night, as I was getting ready for bed, I realized that I had not read my scriptures.  I picked up the Book of Mormon that was in the bathroom, and just opened it.  (I know-how cliche-but still, at least I was reading).  I happened to open to 2 Nephi 31, one of the last chapters in 2 Nephi, and some of Nephi's last words.  (I'm always a bit sad when I get to the end of a particular prophet's writings in the scriptures; it's like I'm saying goodbye.) For some reason, while I stood reading this chapter quickly in the bathroom before bed, verse 20 really struck me.  This verse and its predecessor, verse 19 are quite "famous" (meaning they are quoted often) as making the point that we must endure to the end.  I knew this.  I had read it before.  I know that I must endure, that I must feast upon the words of Christ, that I must have charity, but what really hit me this time were the words "having a perfect brightness of hope."  I don't think I've ever given these words or this phrase that much thought.  But for the last few days these words ("a perfect brightness of hope") have been playing over and over in my head.  It's not just enough for me to endure and try to be good.  I have to do so with  hope, and not just with a "shred" or "particle" of hope, but with a "perfect brightness" of hope.  Wow!  That's a huge challenge for me.  Perfect! Part of "enduring to the end," is to do so with optimism, perfect optimism, despite my circumstances (like a sore throat or pink-eye) and the attitudes of those around me.  (Sometimes it seems sooo difficult to maintain a positive attitude when I am bombarded with the frustrations and irritation of those around me.)  But in the end, I have the agency to CHOOSE a "perfect brightness of hope,"  and thanks to the power and gift of the atonement, I know that I CAN do it.  So here's to a future of a "perfect brightness of hope!"