Mamas Can't Be Sick!

My brain is a little mushy these days...so many projects to distract me (yet I can't finish a single one, blech!), thinking of all we need to cram into the last TWO weeks of summer, big plans, stalled plans, and everything in between. Oh yes, and I've been hit hard with bronchitis- I've had pneumonia and bronchitis tons of time in my life, and I have never experienced such breathing problems as I have with this bout of it.

Thursday was the day I spied the new sign on the tree, and I already didn't feel well. The whole thing really bothers me, and it makes me sad and angry and annoyed. I'm sure I don't have to tell you how demoralizing it feels. But mostly, it bothers me because of the way it affects my children. It makes them feel awkward and unwelcome in their own space, and with the sign staring them down from everywhere inside their little fort, I knew I wanted to do something to try to make it better for them. It made them happy, but I'm still not happy with the situation. I'm glad I got to work right away, though.

The next morning I was a mess. I was so thankful that my Mom and Dad took the boys all day to go kayaking and canoeing (sad that Isabelle and I couldn't go). I could barely move all day Friday, but I've discovered that taking care of girls requires waaaaay less moving around than it does boys! We dressed baby dolls in my bed, she sang songs to me, and she happily colored things beside me on the floor. That would've lasted, um, maybe two minutes with the boys when they were little!

I know the perils of drug-sharing (no, not that kind- antibiotics!) but Bill just happened to have a bottle of some antibiotic for a sinus infection that never got used, so...I thought I'd give 'em a try and see if they helped. I was relieved when I woke up on Saturday and could actually lift my head, and...get up!

We'd been waiting for the perfect opportunity to get back to the beach, so off we went! It didn't start out smooth- there was an accident en route which added another hour to our hour-long driving time. And then it was high tide so sandy real estate was hard to come by. We finally found an okay spot, which actually turned out to be great once the tide rolled out a bit.

Smack in the face, ha ha!

Things were going well until some lady walked past me with a smoldering cigarette. I thought I was about to lose. a. lung.

I kid you not. It was actually quite embarrassing. This went beyond coughing- this was like hacking and gagging and choking all at the same time. Not pretty, I tell you.

Oh, I forgot...the boys and I enjoyed a campfire in the backyard later that night (it was okay as long as I stayed clear from the smoke). Little bats started swooping down over us, which got them all excited. Me, not so much. I like them better behind glass.

 

And then it was like I never recovered. I was worse than ever on Sunday. So bad that Bill brought me to the pseudo-ER- it's smaller, and closer to us). I felt so dumb once we got there because the can't-catch-my-breath episode was over, and didn't return. Good, but bad too. So it felt like a waste of time and money. (The nurse figured I had bronchitis and wrote a prescrip for stronger meds.) We were grateful that Bill's parents were around and offered to take all four off our hands, as if they wouldn't have made the trip a little more fun, ha.

The kids ended up eating at their grandparents so Bill and I had a quiet afternoon. That part was really nice. He got me Chinese food for dinner, which we figured we'd just wait to eat, but when we got home no one was there yet. So we rushed inside and scarfed it down before they came back to interrupt us. It felt kinda funny, in a good-sneakish way.

Poor Isabelle. I think the stress of Mommy being sick was getting to her, and she hadn't had a nap in...forever, so she was so, so tired. She just plain lost it Sunday night. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with her but her howling got louder and louder. Finally Bill calmed her down enough to catch what she was trying to tell us. Are you ready for this?

She was insistent that the nightie she was wearing was missing a bow in the front, even though it never had one. You know how you just get something in your mind, and when you're tired...she was a mess! Through sobs, she would look up with those big, sad eyes and her lips would quiver as she bawled about the missing bow, and then she'd come undone all over again. The second Bill and I left her room, we just lost it and roared with laughter. Okay, so I probably roared, then coughed, but you get the idea. That girl is so funny!

And yesterday...yesterday was Monday. We made it through the day. Somehow. It was pouring rain all day long, but we need the rain sooooo badly, nobody even minded.

This morning I dragged the three younger lads to Target. I am slowly making my peace with it- they have been remodeling the store for months now, and I think it's finally done now. It's okay, but I won't be used to it for a long while. It did make me happy to walk through the Back-to-School aisles. Sigh. I think the high I get this time of year is a big part of the reason why I became a teacher in the first place, ha!