greetings from a peaceful house

Yesterday I got a call from the school nurse. Jupiter has a fever of 102. I suspected she wasn't feeling all that well in the morning, but she insisted she wanted to go to school, so she went with Mimi, who was working that day.

I drove from home from work. It seemed a whole lot farther than it usually does. Especially considering that I had planned to buy gas during my lunch break, and had to take 90 seconds when I got off the turnpike to put $7 in gas in the car to go the rest of the way home. Therin was the lesson to keep my gas tank at least half full at all times. Especially if I'm going to work 40 minutes away from school.

Jupiter was lying on the couch in the nurse's office. I went in just as another sick child was leaving. The nurse was on a phone call. Jupiter was very groggy and sleepy. Then, just after I got there, she threw up.

She waited for me to be there to do her throwing up. It was an odd kind of happiness...that she waited for me before allowing herself to display that vulnerability. ( The fact that they have janitors with mops there didn't hurt either.)

I carried her out of school and somehow got her in the car and home. She had a nap, then woke up and wanted lunch. I restricted her to crackers and 7up and popsicles. She had tylenol when we got home and it lasted until 7pm. She had tynelol early that morning because she told my mother that she had a headache. The headache was true. But the tylenols were purple so instead of taking them Jupiter hid them under the couch cushions. I felt better after she told me that because I was concerned when I heard she'd had tylenol that morning and her fever was still 102.

All afternoon we snuggled in the big round chair under blankets and watched the cat watch the birds in the bird feeder outside and whatever PBS was offering at the moment. Jupiter thought it was all wonderful....anytime she gets multiple popsicles she thinks it's a great thing. And she said I was the best taking care of Mom in the world.

Not that I enjoy that she's sick....but I have to enjoy when she lets me mother her without a fight.

We stayed home today and watched DVD's in bed all morning. Her fever is down (working on that 24 hours fever free without pain reducers so she can go back to school) and she ate soup for lunch (today she's excited because I let her have the actual noodles in the soup) and she's just gone outside for a half hour to disperse the germs in the crisp clean air.

I should probably go out too to disperse my germs, or I won't make it to Saturday without getting the germs myself. Pretending right now that I'm NOT getting a headache myself...it's totally my imagination.

Jupiter just came in and said she hopes she gets sick again so we can stay home more....