Episode #31: The Weekly Mercies of Pam Ellis

My gaze landed on an item toward the bottom of the list.

Finally put those stickers you’ve been collecting on a water bottle.

Yap, that was the one. I had trouble committing the special stickers I had collected to her water bottles. After all, I didn’t want to lose the stickers. But what was I saving them for?

I dug under my bed for my collection of water bottles. I selected a metal one that seemed like it would last a long time and then went to my desk. I pulled out a small box I had collected of special stickers.

I decided that even with the cold, I needed a further distraction, so I didn’t overthink using my precious stickers. I scrolled through a list of audiobooks from my library I had saved off and selected one that had been a favorite of my mother’s: A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond.

I started the audiobook and turned my attention to my task – bowing my nose, I wouldn’t drip onto the stickers at the water bottle. After this disgusting task was accomplished and my hands washed. I sat down to finally cover my water bottle with stickers.

I looked at the collection of stickers.

A beautiful sticker with watercolor flowers that said In Christ Alone. I put that front and center. Next went on my three different Jane Austen stickers. I smiled as I put the Booked to a Tea sticker on. Jared and Lacie had made them when they first opened the store. Jared hadn’t bothered to reorder them, so I was one of the few that had them for now.

There was the sticker from the aquarium for my birthday and the one from the state park.

When I finished, the bottle was covered with very little of the grey coating showing. I blew my nose and I coughed hard. It as time to curl up in my bed with a movie. Jane Austen was just the thing for a sick day. Oh! I needed tea to go with it.

 

I inhaled deeply of the tea I had brewed for myself. It wasn’t my favorite blend, but I needed to keep going today. Lots of tea to keep the congestion and sore throat at bay. That and a lot of hand sanitizer were used so I didn’t pass on my cold to the customers or Lacie. But Lacie and I were skillfully avoiding each other. I didn’t want to give her my cold. The further along in her pregnancy, the more paranoid she got about being sick.

I took another swallow of tea as a customer came up to the desk. Squirting on hand sanitizer, I took the selection of books from her. Five books, three children’s books, and two non-fiction from our Christian section. I rang them up and handed the woman her books. As soon as she was out the door, I blew my nose and again used the hand sanitizer.

Ah, the glamorous life of a customer service person with a cold.

 

“You look exhausted.” My mother looked me over as I entered the door.

I nodded and headed to the kitchen. “Working with a cold will do that. What smells so good?”

“I made you that green chili chicken soup you like so much.”

I turned toward my mother, feeling like my nose was twice its normal size and glowing red enough to give Rudolf the reindeer a run for his money. “Bless you. If I didn’t want to keep this cold to myself, I would hug and kiss you. Soup sounded so good, but I wasn’t sure I would have the energy to make anything.”

My mother smiled. “I like to be able to do things for you.”

I blew my nose and then washed my very dry hands before filling a bowl of the heavenly soup. I sat down at the table. Mom and I chatted about the little happenings of the day. She looked so tired.

“How has the counseling been going?” I asked.

She looked off to the window. “I have a wonderful, godly counselor who is helping me work through a lot of things from my past. Your father and I agreed that we would seek some personal healing before we tried anymore couples counseling.”

I nodded. It was hard to explain how that news was both encouraging and discouraging at the same time. I was glad my parents were still seeking help, that they hadn’t given up, but I had hoped we would be past this by now. I wanted our happy home back. However, I knew many of the things they were facing weren’t quick fixes. I had to be patient and wait to see how God would work things out.

I took a deep breath, coughed twice, before speaking. “I’m praying for both of you every day.”

She nodded and smiled. “We need that more than anything else anyone can do.”

I looked down at my bowl.

“How is Joan doing?”

I smiled, thinking of my mentor. “Oh, she is fine. We canceled our meeting as she tries to avoid respiratory illnesses. She has scar tissue on her lungs from an illness in her forties that makes her highly susceptible to making even minor colds into something serious.

My mother stood. “Well, I hope you get well soon. I need to go finish the laundry, and I promised my friend Jill I would call her this evening.”

I nodded, grateful my mother had a good friend to talk to. “Thank you once again, Mom.”

She smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you….” I coughed instead of saying too. And then I sneezed into my soup. Gross. I hated colds.

 

This week's Mercies:

Cold Meds

Hot tea

A mom who makes me good soup.

I found this Green Chili Chicken soup recipe, and it is a favorite. (Note, I'm endorsing the recipe, not the website, which I haven't fully explored. 

I actually have bought the In Christ Alone Sticker (and some others) from this cute Etsy Shop.

I also love the stickers from this literary Etsy Shop.