That Time of Year

I heard the unmistakable sound of the plow going by as I ended the prayer and stroked Rosie's forehead and flushed cheeks. Her eyes, partially closed, were glassy. Poor thing has been sick with a rotten cold these past few days. I turned off the light and crept away, hoping sleep would come to her soon before another coughing fit did.

It's that time of year. Sickness abounds.

You could almost set a clock by how regularly we get sick in January. Two years ago it was an awful stomach bug, last year it was pink eye and severe head colds. This year, we appear to have lucked out so far with "just" the head cold. Just enough to make little people miserable.

Almost all the rules go out the window when sickness comes to visit. The TV, usually only turned on a few times a day, stays on the entire day through. Food, usually only eaten at the table, gets eaten on the couch in whatever small amounts they're willing to eat. Same goes with drinks. Redbox gets a lot of business from us, and the parents of the house are glad to have each other in times of such miserableness.

It could always be worse. But little kids who are sick; it's no fun for anyone involved.

But we will get through as we always do, and sometime in June we'll laugh at all the weekends we stayed cooped up in the house, on the mend. It's so unlike the rest of the year when we're on the go every weekend to a different place. This time of year? There's a lot of couch sitting, standing by the wood stove, reading and watching movies.

If not for the sickness part, this time of year isn't so bad!