Maybe We're Done?

Brandon woke up this morning and came to visit me while I was taking a shower. Not such big news, really, but it was around 7:45. He hasn't been waking up until close to 9:00 these last few days. And, he announced, he must not be sick anymore because he really wanted some milk! Although he hasn't thrown up for days, he just lays around and complains about his tummy hurting. And I'm still expecting vomit. But yesterday he ate some strawberries and crackers. Weird, but that's what he asked for. Today he had toast for breakfast, and some chicken for lunch. Could we be done? Should I wash the towels on his bed and put the quilts away (what we line the house with since Caitlin can't handle the towels anymore)?

In other new... we went to Brandon's first swimming lesson this morning (we skipped his Monday lesson, since I was still expecting vomit). Brandon is thrilled by the two teenage guys teaching the class (he loves hanging with the big boys). There were 4 kids in his lesson, so there's a lot of hands on with learning how to float and getting up out of the pool. He looked like he was having a good time. Caitlin wanted to have a lesson, too, and asked me about a hundred thousand times when she got to get in the pool. She kept wandering precariously close to the edge of the pool, whining about going in the water with Brandon. I didn't want to go too far from the pool, just in case Brandon started having a hard time. He's still weak from not eating much. After about the forty-thousandth time, I agreed to go swimming after Brandon's lesson was done. Caitlin was thrilled.

We drove over to our favorite pool for an hour of swim time. It's a lot different alone, without your friends and their kids! Brandon and Caitlin had no one but me to hang out with, and cling to. Caitlin did a nice jump on to my broken toe earlier in the day, and I could still feel it throbbing while I was in the water. Even the jets in the hot tub were too much! Caitlin and Brandon continued to cling to me, even in the midst of my pain, making me wish that I had called someone before heading to the pool! After an hour we were all pretty much done with the pool. Brandon showed me everything he learned in swim class earlier, and Caitlin and I had gone down the slide. There wasn't much else to do. And the whining came back. Sickness may have left, but whining is here to stay. Niiice. At least the kids got some exercise. They wolfed down their chicken nuggets at Chick-fil-a before heading to the play area. Brandon was so hungry he picked out a table for us, and just sat there - waiting for me to come back with the food!

update: 5:30 pm....
It's as if good-natured spirits invaded the bodies of both of my kids this morning, and then left during nap/rest time. Evidently, my kid's personalities are too strong for the good-natured spirits, causing them to leave. While I think we are done throwing-up (and I'm on my third load of laundry for the day) and recovering from illnesses, I've become intensely aware that the mental recovery is going to take longer. So happy Brian will be home tonight.........

Oh, and my kids did freak out in the hot tub for a few minutes. Neither one could figure out what was brushing up against their legs. It was the hot tub jets. Go figure!