Feverishly

We've got some sickies over here.  Just a little bit of a cold with a fever and sore throats, poor things.  It seems pretty mild and is hitting one child at a time so I'm able to divide my time up.  Not surprising for this time of year and certainly not welcome, but you know, it could always be worse.  Ever since Peter's RSV hospitalization a few years back, I've had a newfound panic at respiratory illnesses that never bothered me before.  I'm very laid back about illness, but that really shook me up.  I simply have to remind myself that standing over a sick sleeping baby all night is not going to do any good and just get some rest.  Everything seems fine and mild though, thankfully, so all's well.

It's just another step on this crazy year.  The schools here have had more snow days this year than ever before and, although we homeschool, that has introduced an interesting element to our days: Neighbor kids out of school due to cold temperatures.  Our Co op closed since the schools are closed.  With so many starts and stops, cold days, now illness and the odd kid banging on the back door at 9 am (and much too cold to play outside for long periods of time), I've felt like I can't really get my legs under me this year.

It all has led to a sort of feverish pace.  When I do have a few moments where everything is well, it's a fever pitch until the next interruption.  Rosemary is still no good at napping and so my moments when she is are precious commodities.  Do I knit and relax my mind?  Do I chip away at that mountain of laundry?  Do I call a friend? Do I make dinner ahead of time?  Not new thoughts and questions for the best use of time, but more often than not I am so wary of jumping into a project and being interrupted that nothing ends up happening at all.  I'm not sure which is harder.

I really do try to embrace each season of the year and not wish and rush through any of it for the sake of my family, but I could really go for a long summer's day right about now.  When I feel this discontent creeping up, it's a signal to me - a reminder to make the most of it.  So I bake cookies even though the kids are sick and I really should be doing my taxes.  We push the coffee table into the corner and have dance parties to get rid of all that pent up energy.  I try to remember that kids this close, stuck so near me all day, that right there is opportunity.  Opportunity for extra snuggles and to read more books.  Opportunity to really invest time in them.

So when I'm trapped under that feverish baby snoring on the couch, with two baskets of laundry to fold on the dining room table and at least 2 dishwasher loads of dirty dishes waiting in the kitchen, I cling to the reminders of what matters most.  Not, perhaps, a clean house.  Or even a well thought out blog post (sorry!).  Just me, a cup of coffee, a couple of kids and a stack of books.  And when I get the call that a new nephew made his arrival?  I feverishly finish up those little booties and realize that yes, good things can happen in the middle of the coldest winter I remember.  And also that I should repaint our trim.  But not today.


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