Fall Musings
It is officially Fall, though some days it feels like Winter. It was 80 degrees and then, overnight, it was 50 and the temperatures have pretty well stayed there since. And it's raining. A lot. And I'm still mowing my lawn! Two years ago the summer was so dry that the last time we mowed the lawn was in August. It's now October and I'm still mowing my lawn once a week! I'm sure this is a blessing of some kind.
It is also officially Fall because I get lost in the shower. One of my favorite things to do is take a just-a-little-too-hot shower for way too long. I will tell Rob, "I'm just going to take a short shower," and he'll say, "okay," in a way that says he knows I'm lying, and he knows I know I'm lying. It's not like I don't intend to take a short shower, it's just that once I'm in there, it's heaven, and I close my eyes and drift away. Ah, Fall.
It's also Fall because soccer practice last night was unbearably cold! For me, anyways. I'm a wuss. I couldn't feel my toes by the end. I vowed to bring my winter coat to next week's practice.
Rob and the Swine Flu
Yes, we're pretty sure that Rob had the Swine Flu this last weekend. On Wednesday night he came down with a fever of 103 and kept that fever for just over 24 hours. It was very strange to watch, because he was fine when he came home from work, and then, within an hour, his temperature went from normal to 103. That's crazy.
He was shivering violently, even though he was wearing many layers of clothes and had several blankets on top of him. When we went to bed and I prayed with him, our fingers interlaced, I had just opened the prayer when I said, "Ouch!" and quickly pulled my hand away. He was so hot!
On Thursday I watched helplessly as he slept for hours in some kind of distant stupor. He was breathing very shallowly and seemed restless. He woke up and said, "How long has it been?" "Since what?" I asked. "Since you came in last?" "About an hour," I told him. He said, "Oh," and quickly was back asleep. Suddenly he jerked awake and said, "How long has it been?" I laughed. "Since you last asked? Oh, about 2 minutes." He was that out of it all day.
His co-workers and boss were VERY understanding, plus they didn't want to get sick themselves, so they ran an 8-hour experiment for him on Thursday. It was a time-sensitive one, so if it wasn't performed on Thursday, it would have ruined the experiment. Before we knew if they could run it, I told him that he couldn't go in anyways. He was just so sick he would have messed it up anyways, and exposed everyone else to his sickness for nothing.
At the end of the day on Thursday his co-worker called back, and between everyone in the lab, they had things covered for him until Monday. I told her we were very appreciative, and I said it in a tone that said I knew she was the best person in the world. She didn't even say "You're welcome." She said, instead, in a firm tone, "What I'm telling you is that we don't want him to come in until Monday."
Rob returned to work on Monday, but came home early because just walking up the stairs wiped him out. He then took most of Tuesday off, but taught his class Tuesday night. Wednesday was a normal day, and he seems good now.
Tamra and Miciah and the Swine Flu?
Pretty sure Miciah also had the Swine Flu (sorry, H1N1--who cares). She came down with the same symptoms within hours of Rob. She came home from school Wednesday evening and I looked at her, right as she walked in the door, and said, "What's WRONG, Miciah? Are you okay?" She looked like death warmed over. I took her temperature, which was 102, and sent her to bed. She said she was freezing, her neck hurt, and she was really tired. ... She also said that she was in the nurse's office for about half an hour, icing her neck, and that her teacher told her to "take a nap" when she got home. I was a little annoyed that she was obviously so sick and yet I didn't get a phone call. Though if it came on as suddenly as Rob's, maybe earlier she didn't have a fever.
Miciah had a low-grade fever on Thursday, but otherwise felt fine. We kept her home from school on Friday, but she was feeling fine and was spastic by the end of the day. We let her do things on Saturday again.
On Saturday I started coming down with the same symptoms. My neck hurt horribly and I didn't even what to hold my head up. I was achy everywhere, my lymph nodes in my neck were swollen and painful. Not good, not good. I took a nap and 2 hours later felt fine. ... In fact, it was all so short-lived that I wondered momentarily if I had made it up, but you can't "make up" swollen and painful lymph nodes.
So, if that's the Swine Flu, why again are we so freaked out? I've talked to several other people who had the Swine Flu (verified by a doctor, which ours wasn't, because if you think you have the Swine Flu you're NOT SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE DOCTOR unless you're horribly sick and dying), and a lot of theirs were very short-lived, too. Especially with the kids. A fever and cough for 6 hours. Feeling awful for a day. Things like that. ... Who's afraid of the Swine Flu? Not us!
Soccer vs. Piano
Soccer continues to go well enough. Miciah's team had 3 games last week, which just figures that Miciah would pick that week to get sick. She missed 2 of those games (Wed. and Fri. night). Rob took pictures of Miciah during her game 2 Saturdays ago. I'll post those soon.
I'm a little sad that soccer is ending, because I feel like the girls are now starting to learn something! We're finally getting somewhere! Oh well. I suppose that's how it goes.
Miciah has said she doesn't want to play soccer next year. We'll see what she thinks when next year comes. But we'll be happy when soccer ends at the end of October. We'll be starting up Piano Lessons for her come November, since Rob teaching her never really worked out. She's excited.
The Family Schedule
Rob is away from home a lot, but for some reason that isn't bothering me like it used to. I have re-defined what my roles/chores are, what time means, what commitment means, what sacrifice means, what love and happiness means. The tinge of bitterness that was present in my life before is just gone now. This is happiness. This is love. This is commitment. And what more could I ask for?
November is our month for breathing. The soccer schedule is taking its toll. For instance, we haven't yet been on our annual Fall Walk. Why? Because we can't find an open Saturday.
Cincinnati
Rob is now starting to "work" his Cincinnati connections in an effort to stay here in Cincinnati next year. Not just because we don't want to leave (though we truly don't want to leave), but because it seems wise to see what the options are here. So right now we're staying open to a lot of options, and I believe we will still be in Cincinnati this time next year, which is also happiness. We love it here.
And now I am going to go to the Library with the boys. I have a few more funny stories and pictures to post, later.
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