I'll pass on the coffee,,, got any tea?

For a month now, we've all been battling a virus/bug thing in our house. It started some time ago with Bear. Heavy bloodshot eyes, crusty goo in her lashes, a runny nose, fever... then she passed it on to Buddy who, if you recall, passed out at school just to drive home the point that he really was sick and not faking it. Steph was next in line to succumb to the ickiness. She went full force on us though and was first diagnosed with a sinus infection and then we got the great news 5 days later that she developed pnuemonia. Atta Girl! If you are gonna do something, you might as well do it all the way, right? Well, Meme took that advice to heart and in addition to her asthma flaring up, she went from completely healthy to a double ear infection in 24 hours. Sunday arrived to find both hubs and I aching, chilled, sore throated, and miserable. Sheesh... enough all ready! At this rate, by the time we clear this nastiness from the house, we'll be right on track for Bear to come down with something else. Plus? I'm sick and tired of all of us smelling like Vicks, Icey Hot, Halls Cough Drops, and Grape Infant Ibuprofen. And cough syrup with codeine is NASTY tasting. Blech. Worse than Nyquil!

Sigh.

This is what we did Friday night, sick kids and all. It was... awesome. Soooo cool, so much fun, and what a great show for the entire family. There were 3 generations of Beatles fans in the audience which was fun to think about. Our only glitch was when we went to board the T from our restaurant to the theatre. As we were about to go through the turnstile, I realized that Bear was crying. She was TERRIFIED. The T is quite noisy, all that underground echoing and the screeching of brakes and the squeal of metal on metal as the rail cars go around corners, the whhooosh of air from passing rail cars... add in dark dreary cement walls, flickering overhead fluorescent lights, lots of unique people, and one small over-sensitive girl. She thought, with absolute conviction, that we were about to go on some high speed roller coaster and that we were all going to dieeeeeeeee!

We talked her off the ledge enough to get through the turnstile and down the corridors and stairways into the heart of the tunnel and onto the platform. She was clinging desperately to hubs, Buddy was holding one of her hands, and since fear of the rail car wasn't enough, we watched up close and personal as a group of college students managed to get separated when some of the group didn't make it off in time and the doors shut locking them into the car while their friends waved helplessly from the platform. That cinched the deal for Bear. No way was she getting on that monster. We had enough time in between trains to talk her down off the ledge again and when our line pulled up, we hustled up the steps into the car only to find the ONLY place for us to stand was right on the bendy part that sort of rotates and accordians as the cars go around the curves. Seriously God? Helloooo?

Well, we survived, BEAR survived, and was actually quite happy to get back on the T after the awesome performance so we could get back to our car. Next time she won't be afraid of the T. We think.

It did make me think tho', about just how small and innocent she is, how children in general are. How in my whole lifetime there may be a lot of things I haven't done, but I've done just enough that I can logic out how to do something new. Bears limited experience didn't even give her a frame of reference for which to compare the T to. Other than a roller coaster. Such a small girl... such a big subway. But she won the battle and now has one more notch on her belt.

Are ya'll expecting big treasures on Valentines? I'm hoping for nothing more than a teeny bit of chocolate and a little handmade card (hint, hint, hint...). What was your best Valentines ever?

It's naptime here, Chick is snoozing on the couch, Meme is snoring in her crib, and my flannel sheets are calling out to me. It's 10 degrees outside with a bitter wind so I think I might listen to those sheets and go crawl into bed for a bit.

Wishing you all good health!