How I Rang in 2014
As I sit down to write this, I can hear a coughing chorus bellowing down the hallway from my boys’ bedrooms. All three of the children are battling some form of sickness, whether it be flu, colds, ear infection, fever, or all of the above as has been the case. No shrimp cocktail and ball-drop watching for us; instead, we rang the New Year in with rounds of amoxicillin and ibuprofen, early bedtimes, and round the clock temperature taking. It’s not what any parent wishes for the kids (especially for the baby) and it makes matters worse when Mom & Dad catch the gift that keeps on giving.
I briefly contemplated what new year’s resolution I would like to make, but the ultimate goal quickly rose to the surface without much thought: I’d like everyone in the family to be better and stat! That may be more of a wish than a goal, but it held true nonetheless. As a mom, there’s nothing worse than have your children look you in the eye and tell you how much they hurt and not be able to do anything about it. No. I take that back. What’s worse is having a baby with a high pain tolerance who never fussed or gave any indicator to how sick he was until he looked a little flush… and we found out that rosy complexion was the direct result of a 105 degree temperature. Poor baby!
When our seven month old was the first to get knocked down with illness I tried to take every preventative measure possible to ensure that whatever he was battling didn’t spread to the rest of the family. If it meant doing eleven loads of laundry, spraying every doorknob, lightswitch, cell phone, and remote with disinfectant, and becoming the Germ-X nazi, so be it. I scrubbed surfaces, washed laundry, and bathed kids and then did it all again, but it only took two days before our next unsuspecting family member fell prey to H1N1. Now almost a week later, the entire family has been hit with one sickness or another. My five year old, who swore off naps with a vengeance before he was two, is now electively putting himself down for naps, my normally high energy three year old doesn’t have much pep in his step these days, and my sweet baby who normally sleeps through the night has found it hardest to sleep from midnight on (wow! That’s a game changer!).
Earlier this week, my bewildered children wondered why I discouraged them from kissing the baby or holding his hand but we now find ourselves collectively making a large mound, a sea of fevered bodies all huddled under blankets watching Despicable Me 2 and reading Mercy Watson books again. And again. And again. I love my little sickies, but I hate their being sick. And I hate being sick while my children are sick. And I hope it soon shall pass. But, hey, with a start to 2014 like this it can only go up from here, right?