Goodbye, Flu! or "Not so funny Valentine!"

Last week was quite a week for our family. It started out as the perfect Valentine's Day. My husband, Doug, gave me a dozen roses, a beautiful card and a heart-shaped box of dark See's chocolates (yes, very traditional, but lovely nonetheless!) He made a huge batch of homemade pancakes with blueberries and bananas in some and chocolate chips in the others. The kids were in heaven! We enjoyed our day together and looked forward to a much needed date night, sans children.

Late that afternoon, Doug's mom came over to watch the kids. We headed downtown to see a play written by Canadian Norm Foster, called Mending Fences, making its U.S. debut at one of our local playhouses. It was a 5pm show. The play was excellent -- about a strained father/son relationship that needed, well, mending. After the play, we enjoyed some nice Rodney Strong Cabernet and California cuisine at one of our favorite bistros. Feeling very satisfied, we then headed to an art gallery reception, where we chatted with a plein air artist I'd invited to our school a few years ago. It was the perfect Valentine's Day date.

By the time we got back, around 10pm, Doug's mom told us we'd missed quite the "show" at home. Nicolas had had a violent attack of the stomach flu all evening. Thanks to Doug's mom being an ER tech and being around sick people all the time, it didn't even phase her. Two days later, Anna followed suit. We weren't so lucky with her. We were up all night cleaning sheets, emptying buckets, picking chunks from the carpet, stripping the bed and washing the comforter. Two nights later, within a few hours of each other, Greta and I were on opposite ends of the house, emptying ourselves until we had nothing left to give. I was so weak the next day that I couldn't carry John Michael. Doug stayed home for much of the day to help me. We thought Doug and John Michael were safe, but by that night, Doug was aching, too. Out of the whole family, John Michael was the only one who had a flu shot in the fall. His single episode with flu was also the mildest. I'm guessing the flu shot really worked...

Today was our best day since our sick-filled week. The sheets and comforters are all washed, the towels are hung and the beds are cozy again. John Michael was himself again, being cute and cuddly as usual. He's teething very badly, which causes him distress at night, but other than that, he's my little cutie pie again. So glad that's behind us! I'm thinking this year, we may consider flu shots!