I Miss My Family

Eric has been sleeping on the couch for over a month... now he's kicked out of the house altogether. Not to fear- it's not marital discord, it's germs. Iris's inability to sleep anywhere but in bed next to me had him on the couch, and the germs that attacked him this week have him at his Mom's. Patti's going to start some gossip in her neighborhood. (It wouldn't work here, because he's already gone so much, our neighbors won't notice the difference.) The coughing and all-around-yuckiness has been coming on for a few days, so he's just kept his distance. It was getting worse yesterday, so we decided that he could sleep here last night, and if he woke up this morning feeling worse, then he's move to his mothers until he felt better. He did feel worse- and it's a good thing he got out of the house, because he felt even worse-er later. He went to the doc and they gave him something or other... he ditched classes today to sleep... he called in sick to work to rest up... I have high hopes that this will be a short separation. I really miss my husband. Having him gone is no new thing- actually, as I write this at 11 PM, this could be a normal day. If not sick today, he would have gone to school before I woke up, then gone to work straight from school, and wouldn't be home yet. I wouldn't have seen him before now anyway- so this really isn't different. But we've been so terrified that I would get sick that he hasn't so much as given me a high five for days. (Can you imagine if I got sick, too? What a disaster. If Iris had gotten the shots like she should have, this wouldn't be this unnecessary big deal.) I miss my hubby.

And to cap it all, Riley is also sick. Her cough has been coming on for days as well, and when she
woke up this morning, she was also worse. I've had a time trying to keep her hands and lips off Iris, I can tell you that. Her little friend had strep throat the other day- the day after they had been playing. So when I saw her red and raw throat, and heard her hacking cough this morning, I took her to our trusty pediatrician. (I swear I should have his office on speed dial.) Luckily, it's not strep, but she's spending the night at my parents, just in case. As hard as it is to have her craziness all day, every day, I now find that I've missed her today. She knows that she shouldn't touch the baby as long as she is sick and coughing, so when she coughed last night, she said, "No more coughing, Throat!". And when she coughed again a few minutes later, she said, "What did I tell you, Throat?" It was adorable. I miss my girl.

So Iris and I spent a lazy day watching the beloved A&E five hour version of "Pride and Prejudice". I haven't had time to watch that in one sitting in precisely three years and nine months (the length of Riley's life). So, cheers and thanks to my mom and dad for taking care of my Little Sicky, and cheers and thanks to Patti and Stephanie for taking care of my Big Sicky. I wish I could do it.