A (brief, exhausted) birthday reflection

I am so, so tired right now, which shouldn’t surprise, as I’m the 41 year old (as of today) working mother of two kids in diapers, who also both have the croup. Tuesday after the long weekend, we knew Babyboy had the sniffles and a bit of a cough, but we sent him to school anyway; by 11 a.m., his school had called and reported he had a terrible, deep, barky cough, and could someone please come get him (and his contagious cough outta here please). So he was home with low-grade fevers, crankiness, and these kind of alarming coughing spasms, all week. He coughed and coughed, even to gagging and puking a few times. He didn’t seem to be turning a corner. So I made an urgent Pedi appointment Thursday, wondering if I was missing bronchospasm, if he might do better with inhalers.

The Pedi was very thorough, and told us it was just viral croup (like every other kid has, lady, and don’t you now anything from your Med/peds training?).

Of course he did wake up much better on Friday (go figure). But then Babygirl got it.

And that was the end of any kind of sleep. Last night was rough; Hubby was home, so we tag-teamed… What can you do when you have a toddler with coughing spasms that wake her up in the middle of the night, and low-grade fevers and crankiness? Not much, you kind of have to get up and rock her, and sing, and try to get her to take Tylenol, and then she gags and pukes up everywhere, and then you also have to clean the floor and put a load of laundry in… Such was our night. At 2:30 a.m., Hubby and I traded off again, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek and said (wryly): Happy Birthday, Hon.

Of course, today, he still had to get up and get suited and get on a plane to go to work, and I still went to lunch with my friends (dammit, no way I was going to skip out on Legal Seafoods, doc-mom camaraderie and a mani/pedi, especially since I had a really good sitter). I also enjoyed a truly lovely dinner prepared by my brother and sister-in-law, and a homemade cake baked, frosted and decorated by my mom (who then came over and helped with the croupy kids’ bedtime, which was a real gift).

And so I come to the end of the night, almost 11 p.m., and as I write, Babygirl is coughing, but hasn’t woken up again yet…

I’m thankful it’s just the viral croup, and really only a minor illness that will pass; I’m so thankful for my kids, just the way they are (and especially that I managed to have two, at my age). I’m thankful for a Hubby who despite this crazy, insanely exhausting week, somehow managed to get me a thoughtful card (he had the kids “sign” it) and perfect gift (subscription to Cook’s Illustrated and cookbook to go with it). I’m thankful for my family and friends (thanks for all the food, texts, Facebook wishes and cards, especially since I usually forget other people’s birthdays and totally don’t deserve the wishes) and to the staff at the clinic (thanks for the birthday breakfast cupcake and for helping me throw a pizza party). I’m thankful for our next-door neighbors who aren’t mad that Babyboy totally mangled their Jack-o-lantern, and then even made banana bread for us. I’m thankful for our cats and that lately they’ve been sleeping with Babyboy, who really connects with animals (and really needs a dog, but we can’t deal with that right now). I’m thankful for Shiraz and 72% cacao dark chocolate. And quality freshly ground coffee every single morning. And…

Well, our fat(ter) cat has just hopped up on the bed and is sitting looking at me like, When are you going to turn in, so that I can get comfortable? Clock is ticking, lady, tuck in.

And so, good night!