Derailed, Temporarily

I woke up to the stomach flu.

And to the visceral reality that I was down for the day.

In case you haven't succumbed to the shit-tay bug in sometime, let me remind you that it wreaks a suckage you conveniently forgot about since the last time you fell victim.

You lay in your bed, dehydrated, looking at the wall, lamenting the million things you could be doing, bemoaning why even reading or watching movies hurts.  Realizing this isn't a freebie.  Today, you're paying a price.

Cold.

And then, hot.

You close your eyes and remind yourself that this is the last day of Christmas break and that your kids have THINGS that need to get done before tomorrow morning at 7am.

You stand in gratitude for a husband who takes the day off of work to keep the home fires burning and the buttered toast at bay.

And then it hits you, ah yes, it's officially January 2nd and there is no way that you will be running anywhere on the second day of the new year, except to the toilet.

Is this a sign?  Are you fucked?  Time to throw in the towel?

One big God fucking damn it will have to suffice and then, you roll over to weather the storm.

And, in some respects, I'm glad this came now.  It reminds me that life is real.  Much of it is out of our control.  But gentle or sometimes explosive, violent intestinal episodes remind us that in order to carry out our promises, we have to be willing to adapt, to stand firm, and to trust that this is a temporary derailment, at best.

And so, to the negative temperatures I say, pack up, we're done with you.  To the yuck gut bomb that lives inside me, I cry out, "vacate."  And to my heart and mind that are resolute to take good care of me this new year, I say, "fear not."  This too shall pass.

Stomach Flu and Ariana Grande

She woke up from a nap yesterday ready to hurl.

I felt so badly.  It's no fun to be three and have the stomach flu.

But we held her hair back and she did what she needed to do.

And then proceeded to spend the rest of the night on the couch watching episodes of "Wild Krats" while drinking Gatorade and being very hot.

It was a long night and so, I opted to not run this morning...which even when it seems like the right thing to do, always finds a way to bite me in the ass.

And so, after playing countless games of Sorry, Sequence For Kids, Zingo, Mommies and Babies and reading "Where the Wild Things Are" and doing all of the voices, I took a break.

A friend brought a venti Americano to my abode and I sucked it down...in my kitchen...while putting the dishes away...with my headphones on...belting out this song.

And that's when you came in..."Why do you have one less problem without me?"

I started to laugh until I realized that you really felt sad.  I took out my headphones and played the song for you and told you it was just a fun song to run to...and then, we danced to this one...until I realized that was probably the wrong thing to do when your tummy isn't feeling the best.

In the end, we're choosing to shake off the blues of the stomach flu and I am willing this shit out of my home.  It's too early in the season...sickness be gone.  I've got one less problem without ya.