Oh, to be back at Wednesday, when the idea of me getting sick while the girls were home from school seemed funny.

(Sunday Paper, Year V, Issue 8)

I took the picture at the left here on Wednesday.

That was day five or six of my youngest having a fever that sidetracked February vacation and when I felt like a fever might be coming on for me…

…but it didn’t.

I made it through Wednesday no problem.

It was Thursday that was the problem.

I’m actually having trouble pinpointing which days were which - it was all one blob of sick this February break.

My youngest missed the last day of school before break on Friday, and then when the fever didn’t go away after the three-day weekend, I took her to the doctor on Tuesday morning.

The doctor wasn’t worried - it was just a matter of waiting it out.

But sitting in the doctor’s office that day I could just feel the germs contaminating me.

I felt a headache and some lethargy seeping in late on Wednesday.

And when my daughter was finally fever-free on Thursday…I was less than well.

Thursday night was crazy. I’m just thankful my daughter only had a fever and a cough, because it would have been really scary if she had what I had.

On the bright side, we were going to take a quick trip to New York on Wednesday that we had to cancel when it looked like she wouldn’t be fully recovered in time. (Kathy has class Wednesday and Thursday nights so it was a good way to split up the vacation for the girls.)

So on the one hand I didn’t have to worry about driving back from New York when I was feeling rotten.

But on the other - Kathy had class Wednesday and Thursday and it was….not the most exciting vacation for the girls.

I felt bad about it because by the end of the week it was my fault we weren’t doing some of the vacation activities we had postponed earlier in the week.

But this is kind of what February break is for - get the illness out of the way in the least-contagious way.

And we’ll try again in a healthier fashion next school break.

Writing and Comedy

*I’m throwing these two categories together again this week because despite my best intentions to actually get work done this week….caretaking of myself and my daughter prevented that. The good news is as slow as things were at the start of the month….I have quite a few projects to close out the month and I think my hours will end up evening out in the end.

What I’ve Been Enjoying

*Nothing. I didn’t enjoy anything this week.

Thoughts on Dog Ownership

*Kathy and I made a big decision this week. Tate had been getting up around 3:30 in the morning (this was shifting earlier and earlier - from 5 to 4:30 to 4 to 3:30) sleeping in the crate and Kathy would get her and get some more sleep with her on the couch but it was not a sustainable solution. So this week - we started having her sleep in our bed. It’s snuggly and it’s been great so far. It may not be permanent - we might move the crate because it seems like some outdoor lights might affect her sleeping in there…but I don’t know that I don’t want it to be a permanent solution.

Notes

*When I was teaching fifth grade we would read the book The Witch of Blackbird Pond together. It was a challenging book, but everyone got through it - I used it as a chance to mix in some vocabulary and it definitely aligned with what we were doing in social studies. BUT the reason I always think of it when someone is sick is because there’s a line in the book where the father answers someone knocking at the door and says, “There is sickness in this house.” And that goes through my mind a bunch whenever someone is sick in my house.

*I hope you don’t think I’m some weak, complaining sick patient. Often if I feel like something is coming on I can DayQuil it and make it through the day and fight it off. But the past couple of years have had some notable illness that has shut me down. It is a scary reminder of how the body can’t fight off everything. I am confident that by the time you read this I will be on the road to full recovery. It’s just a good thing I didn’t have to write this Friday morning.

*I guess I should throw the usual plugs out there: You can follow me on Twitter here. You can Like the Facebook page here. And there are still some tickets left for March’s Comedy Night at Exhibit ‘A’. You can get tickets here.

*After finishing Alexander Hamilton ahead of what was supposed to be our trip to New York, I am, for the first time in 2020, without something to read. I need to fix that situation soon.

*Can’t believe this is already the last Sunday Paper for February. Next Sunday will be March 1st…which I can believe based on the fact that it’s been increasingly warmer the past couple of days….and the fact that I watched the Mets play spring training baseball on Saturday afternoon.

*I think it’s time for the beard to go.