Before I say anything else today, let us begin with a prayer:
Dear Jesus,
Please let this be the week that my child manages to go to school all five days of the week and does not get any sort of virus and/or other type of illness that causes her to lie on the couch as she repeatedly blows her nose and leaves used tissue all over my coffee table while continuously asking, “What else do we have to eat in the house besides all twenty-six of those things you just named?”
Amen.
So by day three of Caroline’s mystery flu-like virus, I was starting to feel a little bit stir crazy. And by a little bit stir crazy, I mean I felt more like I was being held hostage in my own home than having any sort of vacation. The worst part was she wasn’t really showing any signs of feeling much better which meant we couldn’t even make a run to the grocery store just to get out of the house.
Thankfully, Gulley called me about 4:30 and said she could run by for a quick glass of wine before they headed to the rodeo later. I told her that would be great and just to come in the back door when she got here because I might be out front getting Scout out of the mobile pet grooming van. She didn’t respond to this at the time but when she got here she asked, “Why did you have the mobile pet groomers come to the house?”
“Well, I decided Scout’s nails were in desperate need of a trim and that they might as well give him a bath and a blow dry while they were here.”
She said, “It’s time for you to get out of the house” and then we laughed until we cried at the absurdity of Scout getting a beauty treatment.
And she’s right. If I’ve reached a point where I’ve had enough time to contemplate the length of my seventeen-year-old dog’s toenails…well…that’s a low.
Unfortunately for Piper and Mabel, they didn’t get to participate in the mobile grooming because, first of all, they had already left with P for the ranch. And, secondly, I don’t think they have the manners or disposition required to be taken into a van and have a stranger bathe you. Of course this clearly makes them smarter than Scout, but Scout is also at a point where he takes at least one breath a day that sounds like it might be his last. He has nothing to lose.
On Saturday morning Caroline and I slept in and I knew the minute she woke up that she was much better. She still had her cough and was congested, but the light was back in her eyes and her cheeks no longer had the feverish flush to them. We celebrated by staying in our pjs until about noon and then heading to our favorite Mexican restaurant for a late breakfast. After that we ran by HEB to pick up random things we both wanted and then came home so she could do some make up work for school. Later that afternoon we ventured back out to get pedicures because I honestly just couldn’t get enough of being out of the house. Plus, it was the kind of warm, gorgeous day that just requires being outside.
P got home late Saturday night and we decided on a lazy Sunday morning. Caroline had a soccer game at 4:00 and we knew there was a cold front on the way, but when we left our house it was still about 70 degrees and Caroline was not happy that I insisted she wear her Under Armor leggings and long sleeve shirt under her uniform. I told her she could take them off if she got to the fields and didn’t need them but she insisted, “MOM, that’s not the way it works. You can’t just take stuff off!” Because apparently running to the bathroom for a quick change is not something legitimate soccer players do and moms who want to ensure their child’s comfort are THE WORST.
But when we arrived at the fields and got out of the car, it was immediately clear the cold weather had arrived. P looked right at Caroline and said, “You need to apologize to your mother.” Which brought me more satisfaction than it really should because I am very mature.
Thankfully, I have finally learned my lesson about not being prepared for sitting out at cold soccer games and came fully prepared.
You’ll never know how grateful I was to have that fur-lined hood to ward off the fifty degree chill. I’ll also have you know it started to rain while we were out there. And I just tried to remember that I’d had on shorts and flip-flops not even twenty-four hours earlier.
But we managed to survive and ended up at home with a fire in the fireplace and dinner that I’d actually had the foresight to put in the Crockpot earlier that morning. It felt like my finest hour.
And right now I’d like to say we’re watching The Academy Awards like most normal people, but the truth is P has turned it to Point Break instead. Yes. Point Break. Starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. We’ve seen it no less than 103 times over the course of our marriage.
I guess I could go in the other room and turn it on, but that would require moving and I just don’t know that I’m that motivated. Plus, you know, no one puts baby in the corner or messes with Johnny Utah.