Feeling Better

The Kid is still recovering from a particularly virulent stomach virus – a virus that kept him flat on the couch and surviving on tiny sips of ginger ale for five days. It is times like this that make me particularly grateful for being an "at home" mom. There was none of that "rock paper scissors" over whose work was more urgent between Lefty and me. I just moved some piles of writing into file folders and settled in with The Kid.

He wanted me close and I was able to stay close. We watched a lot of cartoons, lots of movies. The Karate Kid and the original Star Wars. He saw The Princess Bride for the first time. It was so much fun to share a movie my cheesy little heart loves so much with him, plus sword fights! with blood! We watched National Treasure and he got to see his first car chase.

We managed to avoid getting dehydrated this time around, which kept him out of the hospital, but it was the longest he's ever been sick and as sick as I have ever seen him.

During the worst of it The Kid needed me in a way he hasn't for years. He needed comfort. I spent a good deal of time with my arms around him. It reminded me of how intimately we are connected still, even if in healthier times he would rather play with Lefty.

I learned or relearned that the connection we enjoyed while he was younger is still there, pulsing under the surface of our new big boy relationship. I learned that I can handle a little sleep deprivation as long as I'm gentle with myself.

The Kid is on the mend. He's home from school, getting back into solid food and taking some mellow walks around the block to get his strength back. We are both slowly making our way back to the world, comforted and lifted up by what the last few days showed us.