The Rain (It Never Stops)

And thank god for that. I love the rain. I think it's beautiful and oh so conductive for all sorts of indoor activities and the absolute BEST weather you can have if you happen to be sick.

Which I happen to be.

Yes, my weekend was spent with the family, all of us with our own sicknesses, Kim with a cold, Annabelle with an upset pooper and a cold and I've been nauseous and hot (temperature-wise) the whole time. I haven't had a fever, but I've been ungodly hot which is funny (kind of) because Kim is so cold. So last night I stayed in the bedroom with the fan on and the blanket off to try to cool down and she was out in the living room with the fan off and the blanket on to stay warm (also to avoid any germs that might lead to puking).

This isn't the first time this kind of thing has happened though so I figured I'd let some people who have yet to experience the pleasure of a whole family sickness with you being a parent and not a kid, know some of the insights I've recently had.

1) And this is the most important one: I miss my family. I think if they were in the immediate vicinity that Kim and I could call them and ask them to please watch Annie because Kim and I just feel like crap. They'd probably do it too. I have a great family.

2) There's nothing wrong with completely avoiding a family member who happens to be sick. They need you to take care of them, not to be lying there next to them just as sick as they are. So sticking them in the bedroom and only coming in to refill water bottles and give cold gatorades and hot chicken noodle soup is not a bad thing. Leave the room as soon as possible.

3) If you haven't had kids yet or if you already have kids but haven't thought of this situation (because when you're healthy how often are you thinking about being sick?) do this: buy two sets of baby monitors. Or one set with two transmitters and one receiver. This weekend would have seen one in the baby's room while she was asleep being put to use but also one in the bedroom for me to ask for a water bottle or something instead of either going out there, exposing my love to the horrible germs I have acquired, looking around for my water bottle getting said germs everywhere and then going back to the bedroom without the bottle.

It was in the dishwasher.

So kudos to baby monitors.

And finally:

4) Being a parent of a child that is not even one year old (though close) and even being gone for about half of her time on Earth, I have been sick more often than in the last, let's say two years combined. So take my advice and stock up on drugs. Also, it's important to try to maintain sympathy. All those sicknesses will no doubt wear you thin after a while but it's the love of a parent that is a saving grace to the joys of being sick.