Logan woke me up last night around 1 a.m. trying to crawl into bed with me. As I started to become more aware, I realized his hair was wet and he smelled awful!! “Logan, did you throw up?” “Yes …” UGH!

I walked him into the bathroom – it was all over him. Striped him down and put him in the bathtub. He was so mad … screaming and crying. I was sure he was going to wake up his brothers. I washed his hair, dried him off and got him into some fresh pjs. Then, he crawled into my bed, I tucked him in and prayed that he didn’t throw up again all over my pillow. I went into the triplet’s room to check out the damage. Yep, all over his pillow, his sheets … it was on the floor …. on his blankets … and little footprints walking out of the room. I gagged.

Then, I put on my warrior mom pants and went to get paper towel, a garbage bag and the Lysol. Time to clean this nastiness up. As I began pulling back the layers of blankets and dry heaved, I noticed Weston sound asleep in the next bed. He was peaceful and dreaming sweet dreams. Got me thinking …

How many times have you been a complete ugly, smelly mess and the people around you had no idea? How many times have you been chugging along in life and have no idea a friend was struggling until way later? Weston just slept through the entire ordeal … never even rolled over.

I’ve been Logan before … the one who is caught in all the nasty – who needs to be cleaned, cared for and tucked back into bed. I never said anything to those around me. I try to put one foot in front of the other, placing a happy smile on my face, greeting those around me with pleasantries. While on the inside, I was rotting slowly … sick with depression, loneliness, feeling lost. Yet, I just keep going without saying a word.

I’ve also been Weston. The one who is so peaceful and content with my own life, that I fail to see those struggling around me. I just sleep right through the drama, the grossness and the cleaning up. I wake up after it’s all over. Saying stupid things like, “I had no idea!” or “Why didn’t you say anything?”

There are plenty of times that the person didn’t want me to know that anything was wrong. But there are other times, when I should have tuned in. I should have seen the writing on the wall. I failed my friend or family and wasn’t there when they needed me.

Have you been Logan or Weston? Or maybe both? 

Tune in to those around you. Pay attention to those you love. We are all in life together. We share the same world, the same God, the same sin. We are all part of the same being. And if you are Logan, find someone you trust and speak up. Share the burdens of your life. It’s honestly the only way I have survived some of the hardships in life. I asked for help. I took the help that was offered to me. Life was meant to be shared … Man was not meant to be alone.

Love yourself and love one another.

Love, Mel