A Mommy Story

I’ll never understand why my children can’t be like other kids, even if just for a little bit. Mira is sick – again – this time with a simple cold, but the snot is a continuous stream coming from her nose, with no way to turn off the faucet. She’s also running a fever and clearly looks miserable.

So is she sleeping more? Or maybe just more quiet and interested in laying on the couch all day, like most kids (and adults) I know? No way – she’s got things to do, living rooms to trash, and a mommy to climb all over.

The only difference now is she’s getting snot on everything (including me), and instead of going about her destruction merrily, she’s grumpy and whiny and complains about everything in short shrieks and grunts. If I walk into the kitchen and leave without bringing her an edible offering, she falls to the ground and flails in a fit until you succumb to her will. Of course, when I offer her food, she takes one or two bites and then drops the rest on the floor, unwilling to eat any more.

Somehow, we have yet to celebrate a holiday without at least one sick child. I’m not sure what the odds are, but I’m thinking with two children under five who can’t understand why handwashing is important, my real surprise should be that they aren’t sick every single day of the year.

My only hope is that Mira will be close to healthy by Saturday, when child development specialists will be taking over our living room to do a full evaluation for Mira. Ever since her screening, we’ve been urging her to say anything that might show up in Webster’s, but Mira has her own method of communication, with the few words she says free of the burden of complicated consonants.

I’m secretly hoping for a speech therapist like Henry Higgins, just so we can teach her to say The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain with such a lovely accent. Nah, who am I kidding? If she would say mama, I’d be overjoyed.

Have a great Thanksgiving, US readers. We’ve got two family T-Day events to attend, driving from one end of the county to the other. In this time of thanksgiving, I’m thankful that despite the suckiness of this year, we still have our house, we’re staying on top of our bills, we have wonderful family and friends (including many of you) who are supportive in so many ways, and even though my relationship with Aaron has been through the wringer recently, I still have my family intact. Oh yeah, and I’m thankful I finally got the president I voted for.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May you avoid cranky and sick children in your travels this weekend. (Those of you we’ll be seeing tomorrow not included. Sorry.)

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