‘Tis the season

She was bright and cheery when we arrived, eating the remnants of her breakfast and hungry for more. Bird loves to eat! We cooked a pot of oatmeal, and enjoyed this with her. 

Less than an hour later, the two-year-old yawned. Once. Twice. Three times. This is very unusual. “Bird, are you tired, little one? You are not usually tired so early in the morning.” We had not gotten a report on how well she had slept the night before, in the rush of parents getting out the door for work and big sister heading to school.  

A matter of minutes later, she started whining and fretting, and she sat very still, a sad little lump, not playing. What? Where did our happy little Bird go? I invited her to sit with me on the couch and read books, and she could hardly complete this easy climb, moaning with exhaustion. I noticed her eyes were watery. Ah, the tell. This little girl was getting sick.

We literally watched a virus consume our little Bird, and it was a bit like those paper towel commercials where you watch the crud be absorbed.

She curled up at the end of the couch away from me, not wanting to be held, but to be alone near us – honestly, like a wounded animal. One book later, she was back in bed for a nap – without protest. Oh my.

I was not at all surprised when she woke up hot with a fever.

(Come to think of it, there was another big clue. Bird insisted on wearing a pumpkin dress in the midst of this Christmas season – I should have realized that this was her way of telling me that something was wrong, hahaha.)

Since her big sister Frog started preschool this past August, we have had so many viruses pass through our family, one after another. The day that Bird got sick was Frog’s first day back after a two-day fever virus. My son jokes (? is this humor?) that Frog rarely makes it to school for every day of a five day week. The classroom seems to be passing the bugs back and forth, with so many children are getting sick. 

As their caregivers, this sets us up for sickness, too – and I have been so pleased with my resilience. Have all my years of teaching preschool built up my immunity, allowing me to stay healthy in retirement?

Well, my resilience broke down with this latest bout of grandchildren sickness. Yep, I am now tired, achy, and congested. It is not COVID, just a gift from the grandkids. ‘Tis the season, yes? So it is!

Be well, everyone!

Happy Holidays!

It’s Tuesday and I’m participating in Slice of Life.
Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating
this supportive community of teacher writers.