Torn

When Alex woke in the wee hours of Thursday morning several times vomiting, I lost a lot of sleep. Some because I was worried about him. Some because I was doing laundry. But even more than that, I felt almost sick myself when I realized that I couldn't take him to daycare.
The dreaded phone call. I thought about it in my head several times, how I would phrase it. "Alex was sick all through the night, so I can't come in today..."
Even as legitimate as that sounded (as it was, is--what am I saying 'sounded'?), I felt anxious about it.
Times like these, I thought, it would be really nice to have a nanny. But a nanny is a luxury we can't afford, as we're barely making the daycare bills (ie- read "Banking Roulette" for more info.)
Finally I fell asleep, telling myself that things would (maybe) be okay in the morning. Maybe it's just a twenty four hour thing, I thought, although, okay, it had only been twelve, but you never know, right?
Wrong.
I got up and got dressed as though I would be going to work.
Delusional much??

Finally, unable to prolong it any longer, at eight o'clock I roused Alex.
Promptly, he vomited on me. He had a temperature of 38.8
I looked at the clock. 8:00! What a time to phone in sick! An hour before my shift begins!
I looked at Alex, limp and sickly looking, pale and gaunt.
I looked at my outfit. Covered in vomit.
I have no choice, I told myself, steeling myself for the phone call.
My boss's reply was clipped and professional sounding, not outwardly hostile but I could tell she was annoyed- heck, who wouldn't be?? And in her defense, I don't think she was annoyed with me, more the set of circumstances.
You're replaceable, my husband told me (reassured me-- was that meant as reassuring?? I think so maybe but somehow it wasn't) while I was cleaning up vomit. They'll manage without you. I wasn't so sure.
But they did.
Barely, I'm sure, but, they limped through.

Anyways, Alex is spending a few days with his grandma getting some grandma love so I can continue to work this week. I have been missing him a lot, am happy that he will be back tomorrow. I took the opportunity tonight to take the kids to Shrek Ever After, and it was really, really good. I was thinking when I was there about how it doesn't seem so very long ago that we took Gage to see the first Shrek (remember, mom?) and I had to stand out in the lobby with him for most of the movie because he was scared of the dragon. Or the time I took them to the third Shrek movie and I spilled Coke all over my crotch, and we had to sit in the front row and I think I got a form of motion sickness from it. And then I got a parking ticket. What happened during Shrek 2, I cannot say. Don't recall that so it must of went smoothly, how that happened to me I do not know. It was just kind of weird that Gage was there, now going on 13, and we were just having a normal convo- just like two people out at a movie.
Shrek through the ages.
And incidentally, I did get another parking ticket.
At least some things never change.
Anyways. Whatever.
Have a good night.
And whoever you are-thanks for reading.