Okay. This story is not actually about today.
Last Friday, my mother-in-law – one of the most generous people I know – came to babysit, and got more than she bargained for. She came on the arranged day, even though she knew that Baby AB had woken up with a stomach bug of some kind and had already puked three times by the time I called her.
Poor E also had a cough that sounded like a beer bottle barking (that would make sense if you’d heard it, I swear), and I didn’t know how I was going to get him to school with a puking baby anyway… so he stayed home too.
I was stressed when I left for work, having spent most of the morning doing laundry and disinfecting various parts of the house that might have been touched by puke.
When I came home, I was relieved to find that AB had napped, woken up happy, and then eaten a snack and kept it down! (Stomach bugs give me total anxiety, no matter who has them.)
Also, during said nap, E and Grandma J had made a book together, entitled “Today.” The original is about 4 x 5 cm, written by Grandma J and illustrated by E. It goes like this:
The end.
It’s so sweet and sad that he thought he might bike ride and blow bubbles – total summer activities. The picture of Baby AB throwing up made me laugh the hardest, though – especially because I fretted about it so much while it was happening.
Since the book was produced, we had a relatively un-sick weekend – and then E and Daddy have both had some stomach troubles since then. Go figure. I hope I’m not next (GO teacher immunity GO!!).
And that about sums it up.
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awww…sick kiddies; that’s so hard! on everyone.
but what a creative Grandma J and E! i like the bike picture – a very sophisticated rendition!
sorry your household has got the sickies.
one advantage i have, being housebound (more-or-less) is that i don’t come into contact with germs very much. bonus!
as you say: GO teacher immunities! love you all!
Love you too, Auntie! I, too, think his bike is quite impressive. Bikes are really hard to draw – especially tiny versions.
Great post! I laughed out loud because, as a Kindergarten teacher, I know that “barking like a beer bottle” sound. You are not alone in you mistrust of mid-section maladies, either. Thanks for sharing the book, and kudos to you mother-in-law for her efforts.
Respectfully,
Mark B.
(A kindred spirit with three college-aged kids of his own. Oh, the fun that you’ll have…yet to come!)
Mark, I’ll bet you have the Ferrari of immune systems by now. Kindergarten is especially germy.
Sometimes I listen to my four-year-old (like this morning when he was screeching “You’re not the boss of me! You just don’t UNDERSTAND!!”) and I can’t decide if I’ll be in real trouble for his adolescence, or if he’s working out his angst now and I’ll be home free by then. Same with his sister – she’s already pretty moody, and is an expert at the stink-eye.
Wonderful manuscript! Are they going to self-publish? I sense a best-seller…
Ha ha! I think you’re biased. 🙂
EZLINT! I was just thinking about summer bike rides last night, and missing them. So i can sympathize with that.
I have to say, I was preparing to be all sympathetic for a sad sick-kids blog post, but then you said the thing about the beer bottle barking, and my composure went out the window. HOW does it sound like that??? !!! And who came up with that comparison? Hahahahaha.
I hope that everyone is feeling better and your teacher immunity held fast. Stomach bugs is no fun.
xoxoxo
That comparison came up with itself… it was the only thing that captured (in my mind, at least) the hollowed-out, almost echo-y cough/barks.
I’m still okay, knock wood. Not making any assumptions, though. Thanks, Emi.
p.s. – is that a heart and a hug on the front cover with AB vomiting? or is it a crossed-out smile? interpretation and intrigue. very evocative. also i love that that is what he chose to illustrate first, so graphically. ahhhh. yes. good times with vomit. 🙁
I will have to ask the illustrator. And yes, I think it goes hand-in-hand with the potty-talk phase; if there’s throw-up, it must be FEATURED.