And then we are home. An official sick day in my house is the weirdest, quietest sort of eerie. I hear them breathing, but they aren’t saying anything. I force them to eat. They sit at the table in silence. AT THE TABLE IN SILENCE, No hysterical laughing, no plotting to make the dog eat their food, no potty talk, no farting, no burping. They sit in silence and drink their juice.
They ask politely to be excused, for permission to lay down in the bed. I swear I heard my youngest ask “Might I bother you for a spot of tea?”…My boys when sick are the sweetest saddest lot of blandly perfect mannered beings….and I find myself praying for them to bounce off the walls again.
I try instigating a war myself. ” Hey Ogden, Kosmo says he has more stupid rocks then you do” They both look at me and shrug their shoulders and plod off down the hallway sighing like they have seen it all.
Strep throats, head colds, viral infections, and stomach bugs are interesting rights of passage for a parent. They have taught me much about myself , like..I can handle anything that comes my way, except stomach bugs.
It has also made me think about other people. Obnoxious people. I don’t run into it much, ( I really don’t, I have more technical difficulties then difficulties with personnel) but I know there are people out there, that could be described as “assholey” I think we need to be more forgiving in our judgements, I am going to try this the next time someone rubs me the wrong way.
I have drawn the conclusion that maybe they are just “coming down with something”. The “coming down with something” stage, before you are really sick…that is the pinnacle of crazy. That is the time my kids are recklessly berserk. So yeah, if I run into someone who seems to be throwing an apple tantrum I don’t understand…..I might take a moment to consider all they may need is a little orange juice and some TLC.
