Stewart Sickies

Here's Gwen, before the virus sank its nasty, scritchy claws into her, and while she was clean.

Phew. We are finally coming out of the worst family illness we've had in a long, long time.

It started - oh jeez, two weeks ago, just before the Inauguration. Gwen got herself hurt over at the neighbors. She managed to scrape a fair chunk of skin of of her middle finger. It's mostly better now, but it was fairly traumatic for everyone, the neighbors most of all, I think. (I can't imagine anything worse than having someone else's kid get hurt on your watch - yeesh.) The injury wasn't ER-worthy, but it was definitely the Worst Thing that had ever happened to our Gwennie.

So that started a few nights of interrupted sleep, and partial nights of sleeping in the "big bed" as G. puts it, which sequed right into the weekend, and the beginnings of a fever. In the meantime, I'd gotten a gig subbing at my old school, in the 6th grade classroom. Which is my favorite sub job, because those are the last of my students. I didn't teach all of them, but even the ones that I didn't still know me as a teacher, rather than just a sub. Plus I love 6th graders - I love the curriculum, love the fact that I can really tease them, and love checking out how the cute lil' 8-year-olds I knew have gotten all scrawny and long and awkward. And smelly, whoo boy, hugs take on a whole new meaning, and whoops - so has this paragraph.

But check it out: I got a standing ovation from 20 12 year olds on Tuesday, when I told them I'd be there all week (their teacher had a new grandbaby.) A standing o. How cool is that?

Anyway (it's my blog and I can ramble if I want to) I had to work on Monday, and when I got up, Gwen was burning up. Full fledged fever, runny nose, whole thing. And I thanked the stars once more that I am not a single mom, because what would I have done? As it was, I cancelled Daphne, and Jim canceled his appointment for the day, and stayed home with her. All week, or at least until Friday. I started fading on Tuesday, was full out sick by Thursday, and just gritted my teeth through Friday. Because a) um, standing ovation! b) the teacher was counting on me, c) we really need the money, and d) my last class of kids! It was a great week with them, really. I just could've done without all the snot in my head.

Jim was still ok on Friday, when he had a consulting job, but by Saturday he was definitely feeling it. We all just groaned around the house and Costco (we were seriously out of food and supplies.) Jim's starting to come out of it now.

So. All of that, and it was mostly set up. Because I really wanted to blog on Sunday, when Jim slept way way in, and Gwen and I ate our pancakes and eggs by ourselves, and I was looking at my beautiful (pink-nosed, red-rimmed eyes, cold-infested) daughter. She is so much fun right now. She's talking more and more, and she's just such a little person. I don't even remember exactly what she was saying or doing, I just remember thinking - remember. Snapshot this moment right into your head, this feeling, this child, this morning. Because oh boy, she is some good stuff right now.

She's a nuzzler. She hugs my neck tight, then pulls back and studies my face carefully, selecting her placement. Then, with all the precision of a surgeon, she'll tun my head and lean in. Half the time she just rests her mouth against my cheek, and I'll stand there, poised, waiting for the smack of the kiss, and it doesn't come. The nuzzle just lasts. What does follow, almost every time, is the turning of my head the other way, so the she can place the partner kiss on the other cheek. Then one on my nose. Or my eyes, on at a time, very very gently, my little snuggly girl. Of course, this morning the eye kisses came after pancakes, and were a little, um, sticky. But still. When a little pigtailed girl offers you kisses, you do not turn them down.

I deliberately didn't take photos ove the weekend, because we were all less than our best. But here's one from yesterday, when we had lunch with some of my girlfriends. I'm telling you, some seriously good stuff, in her twirly pink poodle dress and shiny shoes.