Sicknesses

It was bound to happen sooner or later.  We had a good run of healthy individuals in the last month or so, but seem to have had a few sicknesses going through the ranks.  Last week it was a very mild cold; I'm not sure that we've ever had one quite so short lived.  The kids and I seemed to be over it mostly by Monday and then Tuesday morning came.

First, our alarm somehow went off an hour earlier than normal.  Then, the first thing we heard on the radio when the alarm went off at the right time was "McFarland schools are on a two hour delay."  Experience has taught me that I should verify any school information before getting too excited.  After checking a few sources, it turns out the radio was wrong, but not before we were already running behind.

We just managed to get everyone to school on time, but while Ethan and I were clearing off the driveway after we got home, we received the call from school that Anna had thrown up.  Although this child has vomited much more than another 8 year old, there wasn't any apparent reason for her to have issues this time.  When I got to school I asked if a stomach bug was going around and, sure enough, there was.  Bingo.

But we can deal with stomach bugs.  In fact, they are usually the "easiest" sickness that Anna gets.  A few hours of resting for her, a day of Pedialyte instead of formula, and she was back to normal by the evening.  However, we usually keep her home an extra day after any illness to make sure she can handle the formula schedule at school.

This wasn't really how I had wanted to spend my week, but I finally came around to appreciating the extra time and more relaxed pace of the past few days, at least after the initial surge of dealing with the change of plans.

In spite of being up multiple times with Mr. Ethan Tuesday night (he's been having sleeping troubles off and on during the last few months), we had a good day at home on Wednesday.  Anna is pretty familiar with these days off from school which really aren't "days off".  She still remembers the routines of chemo days when we would make a list of activities, both school and fun, to help pass the time at the hospital.  She and Ethan also had the opportunity to have some fun together, too.

Actually, our kids have some relatively unique relationships.  Anna and Kate had a very special sister bond prior to Anna's cancer; the cancer year changed a lot of their relationship.  Now they have a more typical sister bond.  Some fun and good, but some annoying behaviors and fighting as well.  Who knows?  They might have migrated to these roles regardless of cancer.

Ethan was kind of on his own until Anna became sick.  Then he and Kate had a good, solid year to really develop their special relationship.  For several months, they were the only consistent factor in each other's lives.  Then Ethan learned from Kate how to use his imagination and now there is no stopping them most days.  Kate is still one of Ethan's favorite playmates.

About a year ago, however, Ethan started having the opportunity to create a special bond with Anna as well.  Ethan comes along to almost every therapy session Anna has at the clinic and is definitely a part of the sessions.  In addition, since Anna has been more mobile on the ground, she plays with Ethan at a different level and pace than Kate does.  When Kate gets too bossy, Anna is a good alternative playmate for the boy :)

Someone would have an interesting time studying the changing roles of our kids, too.  At different times in their lives, they have each taken on the role of oldest child, middle child, and youngest.  Let's hope the good characteristics from each role stick :)

One last thing.  Ethan finally had his 3 year check-up a few weeks ago.  He's just fine in all developmental areas, which we figured.  His height is also finally managing to catch up with his weight.  At the appointment he was 38 inches tall (75%) and 38 pounds (95%).  Good and solid.

We're hoping for another long stretch now of good health for our crew!