Survival of the Fittest?

I've received several emails asking about The Great Wuss Weekend so I thought I'd give a little update. It has now been confirmed, and we know without a shadow of a doubt, that I am a wuss. But I survived. No, probably not because I am 'the fittest', but because I have a wonderful husband and very giving children. Laura and I spent much of the weekend resting together. Awwww, you say. Perhaps you'll change your mind once you know the reality of it all.

Laura, poor thing, has been dealing with a rash of some kind for over a week now. When we went in to the Dr. Golonka to have it checked, he labeled it a 'viral rash of unknown origin' and sent us home with a steroid cream script. Since it didn't seem to be itchy to her, we decided we'd wait it out. Little did we know how long that wait would be. Or how far it would spread. While I haven't checked for further growth this morning, as of last night it had grown from the original starting point of her lower legs and was now covering her almost completely. And to add to the joys of the household, she started running a fever on Friday along with a very running nose indicating a cold of some type had taken up residence. Her normally cheerful voice now sounded like she was talking with a mouth full of marbles and gravel while her nose was clamped shut, and her very pleasant disposition was a bit on the edge. By Friday night, she wasn't sleeping either. Poor Don spent most of the night on the floor of her room, hoping she'd sleep some between whining. She didn't. So he didn't, either.

I, on the other hand, was blissfully sleeping off some good meds in our room, being ever so conscious not to let anything touch my toe. Yes, I'd succumbed to Dr. Stone's charismatic ways and allowed him to remove my toenail. *sigh* And I was being a good patient and taking my meds as directed. :)

Saturday dawned bright and early - I lunged for the pain meds while Daddy roused himself and Laura up off of the floor. It seems she wanted Mommy. She usually does. Especially when she's not feeling well. So after passing out a whole new round of meds for everyone and taking breakfast orders, Don left Laura and I cuddled together, praying we might get some sleep while he quickly departed from 'The Whiny One'. No, not me. Really. One of our nicknames for Laura is 'WhinoBucket' and indeed she was living up to that this weekend. But you really can't blame her. She's running a fever, is covered from head to toe with a rash that insists on hanging around, and her normally compliant playmate screeches "Watch the Toe!" every time she moves. *sigh* We all did manage to get some good naps in on Saturday, and it seems that cuddling with Mom did help Laura. She was heading back to more of her normal self despite her rash by the end of the day.

Sunday dawned later than normal, finding all of us in our own beds having slept through the night. (Hallelujah would be appropriate here should you feel the need) Don tended to all of our needs, got Matthew packed and off to camp, and kept the household running without missing a beat. And he even had some time to nap with me for a bit in the afternoon. He earned his 'SuperDad' t-shirt once again. I think we'll just have it tattooed to his chest. On second thought...

So, as you can see, life goes on. Laura is feeling a bit better, my toe survived as intact as it can be after losing its protective shield, and Jonathan is doing a great job of caring for us while Daddy is at work. Was it hard to admit I'm a wuss? Nah. After all, being a wuss means I get to sit with my foot up, take naps when I need them, and cuddling with my kids whenever I want while Daddy takes care of us. I can handle that. For another day or so anyway. After that, sitting still just might put me over the edge. But we'll handle that, too. One day at a time. Because we're family and we'll survive. Together. :)