I feel like I could fill this blog with nothing but stories of the adventures that occur while Rob is out of town. I also seem to be developing a pattern of getting sick at the end of April. It started late Sunday night with some sort of stomach thing. I woke up exhausted with shooting pains in my stomach. It felt like I had swallowed hot lava. I can't remember the last time I hurt so badly. I went home early on Monday and stayed home Tuesday. Tuesday night I started sneezing and coughing. I went to school on Wednesday coughing, wheezing, and sneezing. By Thursday, I was doubled over coughing. I took Nyquil that night and woke up with pains in my left arm and a racing heart. I woke Rob up and was terrified. He calmed me down and stayed up with me. By the morning, my eyes were swollen and weeping. I called in sick (and missed our Multicultural day!). When Caroline got home, she drove me to school to pick up my plans and took me to the clinic. The clinic nurse insisted that I simply had allergies and it couldn't be bronchitis because I would have had to be coughing for two weeks (who in their right mind would put up with this for two weeks?). I have had bronchitis often enough to know what it feels like! I left with $50 worth of allergy medicine and a headache. That night Rob packed to leave on a work trip.
I woke up at 6:00 to see Rob off and went promptly back to bed. I woke up at 10:00 when Caroline woke me up to tell me she was taking the car to go pick up prom stuff (oh yeah, it's prom). I sat up and felt exactly as I predicted, my nose was clear (maybe I do have allergies), but my chest was full of rumbling, crackling, antagonizing coughing! I bent over coughing and promptly wet my pants. Not just a "oh I've had a baby" tinkle, but a "dammit, I'm in my mind 40's and wet my pants like a two year old." Is there no end to the humiliation of the aging process? I have just begun!
I collapsed in my favorite chair with tissues and hot tea. At noon the doorbell rang. I answered the door still in my pjs with a red nose and wild woman hair. A confused Latin-American man jumped back as I started coughing. It seems the roofer sent him to replace our gutters and forgot to tell us. Between gasps I tried to explain that it was prom today, and I needed the yard clear to take pictures (I know, first world problems). He politely apologized and backed away. I crawled upstairs and climbed into the shower. With each bang, I was expecting to see a roofer pop through the shower ceiling.
I struggled into clothes and tried to pick up the house while the dog followed me around shaking. All of the banging set off the smoke detector, which only added to her panic. I gave up and gave the poor thing one of her "chill pills." Lily got dressed and brushed her hair and teeth (after I reminded her 5 times). After I convinced her to "just make something to eat, but you don't have to eat it" (she always gets hungry while she's fixing food), Lily vacuumed. She missed half the spots (probably because she was concentrating on singing "Hard Knock Life"), but it was better than nothing.
By the time Caroline and her best friend got home, it was time to take her to get her hair done. It is a known fact that dress up events stress Caroline out. Add the fact that my raspy voice sounded plain bitchy, and things got a little tense (nothing humor couldn't overcome). While she was getting her hair done, Lily and I went to pick up the boutonniere. I promised her a "clambake." We were going to eat popcorn shrimp and watch Teen Beach Movie on Disney. I also let her pick out a cake.
When we got back, I spoke to the guys working on the gutters and realized that they missed part of what they were supposed to do (the notes he was given weren't clear). They finished the trim as I worked on Caroline's makeup. The noise did not relax her or Buffy. I finally disconnected the smoke detector!
I picked up Cristhian.Of course it was pouring rain, and we couldn't do the pictures Caroline had planned. Luckily, I am creative in a pinch. We went out on the sun porch and it worked out great! Lily was jealous, but dealt. I only doubled over coughing 5 times! Caroline looked gorgeous!!! She talked Cristhian into going to Noodles and Company. It was cheaper, faster, and she got lots of "awws."
The minute they left, I put on my jammies and hunkered down for the night. It still seems so odd for her to drive off without me. I think I feel too crummy to dwell on it too much. Through out the whole day, Rob sent me joking and encouraging texts. We are perfecting "parenting through text." I hope that Caroline has a wonderful time and returns safely to us. Tomorrow, I am taking Lily to an Earth Day movie sponsored by my school, and going to another doctor. I can't afford to miss any more school or sleep.
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