Sick

O, Jo. You gave us quite a time last night.

It was bound to happen eventually - your first illness. Frankly, I was impressed it didn't happen before now, what with how ill your mom got during her pregnancy, and the astonishing number of colds and a hybrid flu wiping across the U.S. this winter. I myself went down with fever a couple of weeks ago, yet you and your mom seemed to have cleared that. She believes your current condition may have come from a handshake she had with the director of a daycare you two visited.

You were up and screaming almost the entire night last night, terrified by terribly congested sinuses. Your mom went to "sleep" with you in the glider, holding you upright so the mucus would hopefully head downward instead of blocking up your breathing. I'd say we each got only a couple hours' sleep, none of it uninterrupted. In the morning, you were so little better I stayed home from work and we tried to get an extant doctor's appointment that you had scheduled moved earlier.

The doctor tells us it's along the lines of a cold, with high probability of oncoming ear infection. So we're giving you medicine, and girding our loins for a generally sleepless weekend.

But you know what? You're a champ about it. You are absolutely screaming your head off when you have to, but any time you can calm down you're smiling at us and wanting to play. Taking you about from the doctor to the pharmacy, to get your mom a coffee (oh precious coffee) while your prescription is filled, you didn't cry a bit. In a sense, you actually just helped your mom and I pause a bit this morning, appreciate one another a bit more. It may be a case of "no atheists in the trenches," sure, but I don't know. You bring us together in a lovely way.

Now, please, please please - sleep...