A Red Letter Day

     So yesterday was some kind of day...well, at least once I left work. I picked up Claire from Daycare...only to hear the one thing that puts fear in any parent’s heart: a confirmed case of head lice in Claire’s class...so home we went–baths all around...frantically I searched her head (whew...nothing)...then scrubbed it...just in case...ignoring the phantom itching happening on my own head. Clean kids, jammies, and a nebulizer treatment for my asthmatic, coughing Claire. After school TV has been surrendered during Lent...which adds chaos and NOISE to our already busy home. Neil’s trying to get supper on...while I’m chasing the other three around the house. "FIRE!" He yells...I look over to see giant flames inside my stove. He slams it shut, looks at me, and yelps, "I don’t know what to do!" I grab the baking soda and douse the flames...now I have a house filled with thick smoke..open windows, usher asthmatic, coughing Claire upstairs away from smoke. Cancel supper. Move to "free for all" mode. Close windows...deem downstairs smoke-free enough for Claire. Continue on with night...eating, spelling words, piano playing, phone-talking...Claire keeps coughing...and now, yes, yes, we have vomiting! Poor Claire now has christened much of downstairs living area, each time insisting, "I don’t have to puke anymore!...(cue cough, gag, and vomit). Forgo Lenten promise in hopes of containing vomit and making asthmatic less active...scrub entire bathroom with bleach...scrub all downstairs floors with PineSol...fumes now probably too much for asthmatic...more nebulizing, bedtimes, get dressed back into real clothes lest ER is necessary...spend night uncomfortably perched on couch or bed, wringing hands, as Claire moves through a series of coughing/vomiting fits, followed by exhausted fitful sleep. In between 1 and 2 fever spikes...103...Claire is now talking nonsense about planting gardens, milking cows, and disposing of imaginary Kleenex. But hey, coughing and vomiting has slowed...go us. Call to nurse-line, trip to ER...where we are treated by Dr. McDreamy...(even Neil was in awe)...back home by 5:30 with seemingly routine Prednisone prescription in hand...put Claire back to bed...where she sleeps until after 11:00, and wakes up surprisingly perky–how is that POSSIBLE? I on the other hand, look and feel like death. Starving...only it’s Lent and I can’t eat meat...decide cookies for lunch is totally acceptable...wait–remember giant fire in stove...decide baking cookies in toaster oven is not at all weird. And now...here I am...trying to write this while being horrifically distracted by "The Fresh Beat Band" that Claire is now watching...and ridiculously entertained...must be overtired, because this show right now is seriously the most entertaining thing I’ve ever watched...either way...just another typical day in the Roth household...