Have you heard about that little "piggy" pandemic? It came to stay at our home and gave Chris a fever for nine days. Yes, my poor husband, the man who washes his hands ten times a day and holds his breath when he hears a sneeze or cough, was stricken with the dreaded H1N1 virus. He started coughing Friday, October 9. Then the fever came on Saturday, October 10 and didn't leave until Monday the 19th. Poor, poor Chris. We worked so hard to keep him isolated in our bedroom. It was a lonely, achy existence over that week. Chris was lucky if he ate a slice of toast per day. He did consume lots of water, peppermint tea, and orange juice though. He slept more than he has since he was five months old and watched some favorite movies on our portable DVD player. Hallie and I got upper respiratory infections so we spent our time coughing and sneezing. I scrubbed the house and took care of my kids with a surgical mask and gloves on for several days. I was too busy to watch any news or go online. We did watch plenty of movies (cartoon ones) to get us through the long days.
Between all the trips up and down the stairs to check on the sick boy and all day with the girls with no reprieve, I was exhausted every night. I couldn't believe how hard it was to take care of my children with no help in the evening. I was dumbfounded by what single moms have to do. Two of my closest friends are single moms and all I could think was how they do this every single day. I also thought about all the military wives who do that while their husbands are away serving our country-- wow! It illustrates how much work Chris does around our home. He holds babies, changes diapers, entertains, snuggles, and encourages. He is the best partner and it was lonely without him to help me, talk to me, and laugh with me.
We experienced great blessings during this time. Three days into Chris' flu I had all the symptoms, my chest was tight and I was coughing continuously, my muscles and bones were aching, and my temperature was quickly rising. I knew I could not, would not let myself get the flu too. I couldn't imagine nursing an infant every three hours while I had influenza. I sat in bed and decided it just wouldn't happen, I would fight it. And somehow, I knew that because I made up my mind and I asked, I wouldn't have to endure it. Chris offered a blessing that I would not have any more symptoms and that the girls would not contract the virus. By the end of the day, my fever was down and the acheness had subsided. It was a miracle. You would have to be in my body to know how it felt. But I know that one morning I had the flu and the next morning I didn't. And it never touched my little girls.
Halfway through his illness, Chris walked into the garage for something and a squirrel surprised him. Chris had to coax him out from under the lawn mower and send him down the driveway. I kept thinking about two things-- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (where a squirrel crashes the Griswold Family Christmas Eve) and whether or not Chris could give swine flu to a squirrel.
My mother-in-law is a nurse and was a lifesaver. Two days in a row she dropped off delicious dinners at our doorstep. Her packages had simmered soups, warm breads, roasted chicken, replenishing juices-- it was like manna from heaven. She even added thoughtful extras like candy corn, a cooking magazine, surgical masks and gloves, and hospital-duty cleaning wipes. What an angel.
Chris returned to work Tuesday. He is still very tired but is feeling better every day. Except for lingering coughs, Hallie and I are recovered. Little Claire got through the entire incident unscathed. Now, we just have to catch up on laundry. And I'll post pictures on our blog. So, that my friends, is where we've been and what we've been up to.
decorating our sugar cookies
pumpkins and candles . . . two favorites!
We baked pumpkin white chocolate chip drop cookies together (some of my white chocolate chips were green). These taste like pumpkin pie and are so soft.
Hallie and I made spiders (we cut and painted old egg cartons). Hallie made one for each family member. These are the Hallie and Claire spiders.
We made "witch hands. "
Our annual haunted houses. Hallie insisted that she put her candy "in" her house and not "on" her house. I did it on a smaller scale than previous years and it was much easier. But, let's not talk about all the black sprinkles I had to sweep up.
My weekly chalkboard menu. Here is this week. Last week's meals were spookier-- jack-o-lantern pizza and jack-o-lantern cheeseburgers. Too bad we were too sick to make them. This Sunday we are going to do our annual Halloween themed meal though.
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