Reason #54 why he's such a good daddy

Maddie has been up coughing the past few nights. She doesn't complain about it and she's been fine during the day, but the coughing is heartbreaking to listen to. It's that barking, dry, painful cough - you know the one. I know it too well, as I have it right now too. Going on 2 weeks of being sick and we're all getting a little tired of it I think.  This is one nasty virus/cold/mutant-bug-of-something-or-other.

She's been a trooper (as always), but it's starting to wear her down a bit.  I think we were both awake from 5am onward from all the coughing from both our bedrooms, so not only was she coughing her little heart out this morning, but she was tired and CRANKY.

Here's where the Hubs earned his right to watch as much playoff hockey as he wants to tonight.... 

(At the breakfast table, after a particularly loud meltdown over a benign offer of a banana for breakfast)

Hubs: I don't think she should go to daycare today.
Me: Well, I have meetings downtown, so unfortunately, she's going.
Hubs: No - I meant, I'm going to stay home with her. Hopefully a quiet day inside and a long nap will help her get over this.
Me: You're going to work from home? Are you sure?
Hubs: Yeah, I'll try to get some work done, but I'm only worried about taking care of her.

I left them snuggling on the couch, watching Dora, while she ate a popsicle and was already in a better mood knowing she was having a "Maddie/Daddy Day".

Jealous.

xxoo.S

The resilience of children

We had a sick weekend here at Casa V - Maddie came down with a fever by noon on Saturday and ground productivity for the weekend to an effective halt. Luckily the fever was easily managed by Tylenol, but it's still upsetting to see your little boo get cranky and flushed and incredibly unhappy every 4 hours as the medicine wears off.

But the flip side - watching how incredibly happy and mobile she was while the meds WERE working - now that's a sight.

Is it just me? It always amazes me how well kids deal with illness. Or I should say, how my kid deals with illness (can't really speak from experience about others - but have heard similar sentiments). It's like - they're only taken down and out when it's really serious. But some sniffles? A few aches and pains? A sore throat or even light fever? Without fail, Miss M is smiling and happy and playing her way through it.

So here's my question? Is it just because we're older and therefore just that much closer to death (har dee har har) that makes us unable to fight the temptation to pull the covers over ourselves and block out the world when we're feeling sick? Or barring be able to do that (because, really, when's the last time you ACTUALLY spent the day in bed, taking care of yourself when you were sick - and men, this question is not for you!)... just how well do you find yourself coping with the feeling of being sick?

I'm not going to sugar coat it. I'm a whiner. I'm a total table-for-one, host-of-the-pity-party. I like to call MY Mommy and tell her all my ailments so she can tell me what I should do (which, being a nurse, usually is, stop feeling sorry for yourself, take some Advil and drink some tea).

And don't get me wrong. A sick Maddie is a miserable house over here 60% of the time. But it's the other 40%, where she's spinning around the living room singing some Cinderella song at the top of her lungs, that makes me go, huh. Wonder if it's just mind over matter. And if being so self-aware (and self-pitying) is really worth it...

xxoo.S