The Ripple Effect

I chose a happy color for this post, because I want to be clear that I am not complaining, simply stating some facts and some patterns.  This has been a very hard time here at The Royal Ranch and it seems to me as if it has been a hard time for a lot of people we know, and I am sort of curious about it.  I got to thinking about the ripple effect that my back injury has had on my family and on this ranch and it has been astounding!
As you know, it took a long time for the "injury" to take place, so it really took a toll on my family.  This has been the worst school year for injuries and illnesses that we have had for as long as I can remember.  Which of course comes at a terrible time for me for many reasons, my patience are at their very shortest to deal with sick children, I was not physically up to helping kids that needed help with everything, and most of the time at least one of the kids seemed ill or injured so I was not able to ask him or her for help that I really needed,  Now, let me be the first to say, that all of these injuries were real, just very bad timing.  But, again, it has gotten me to thinking, can I, as the Mom, somehow change or affect the entire vibe or affect the health of the ranch with just one injury?  I'm thinking so.
I know that sounds really egotistical, and I really don't mean it like that.  Actually it kind of freaks me out a little bit, makes me think I better get a little bit (or a lot bit-ha!) better control of myself!  I mean, it could just be that I wasn't cleaning the bathrooms as well as I normally do and we got a lot more germs than usual.  But, that doesn't explain the major concussion or the two sprained wrists on two different kids, or the myriad of other bugs and wounds.  I'm not playing the blame game (on myself), I just refuse to go there.  I  also know that kids get scared by things that they see, and two trips to the ER in two days could do the trick.  The odd thing is, is that we had started down this path before we had even gone to the ER in the first place, those visits seem to be just another stepping stone in our very long path of "weirdness" this year.
I suppose it could be cosmic, I sure have heard of a lot of people going through tough times; maybe it's just stress.  As I send my little warriors off to school today one with a cough and very sore throat, one with an ace bandage and one who is too tough to wear an ace bandage but should be (he, too, has the cough), it really makes me wonder.  The lessons in life are a hard one to teach, I'm afraid my kids might be learning this one the hard way!  I guess that is what I'm wondering, is it a lesson, or is it just one of those crazy years?