So far the new year has started off with one major event…. the flu. It started on Christmas Eve and one by one everyone has dropped.  Jump ahead to January 13th when all 7 of us were up, healthy, a few coughs, but up and going.  I bleached the entire house, bleached the kids, the pets and sprayed 4 cans of Lysol just to be on the safe side. Thought we were out of the woods for sure.  Opened the windows like it was a spring day even though it was a balmy 12 degrees outside, bought $18 worth of sunny daisies to make the house feel like spring.  Done and DONE with the flu!

Oh, but wait.  Sunday night and I saw that look on her face.  That look when you get off a tilt-o-whirl and feel like you may pass out.  That look when you eat an entire row of Oreos on top of a quad-mocha-latte.  It starts with a little cough and ends with a week off school and giant bags under Mom’s eyes.  That 3:30 a.m. coughing up a lung wake up call and then … “Mommmmmmy, I think I’m gonna ……”  too late.  Sheets, bedspread, pillows are taken down to the laundry for a 2 hour wash.  But for all the Mom’s reading my blog, you know that you don’t get to take a nap the next day while the “sick one” rests.  Nope.  Up and ready for 5 breakfasts, 4 sack lunches, the cats, the dogs and hopefully a shower before heading to work with a smile on your pale face.

I’m a great Mom with fevers, sore throats, stitches, broken bones and teenage mood swings.  I’m a terrible Mom with the stomach flu. TERRIBLE!  I heave, I gag, I tear up with the thought of one of them getting the stomach flu.  Today was the day.  The dreaded call from the school nurse. “Can you pick her up please.  She vomited in the cafeteria all over the lunch table.”  HOLY *&#(*#&$!!!!!!!!  Please Dear God don’t tell me that we now have the stomach flu to manage.  I’m weak.  I’m tired. I’m fragile.  I CAN’T TAKE THE STOMACH FLU!!!  Two years ago I almost passed away from the stomach flu.  I didn’t actually have it, but all 5 kids got it within 24 hours and Daddy was on a 4 day business trip.  It was the single worst week of my entire life.  At one point, I had beach towels all over the house waiting for the next projectile vomiting contest to begin with all five of them.

For now, one is down with the flu, 2  are having major teenage mood swings, 1 has decided to stay with a friend tonight to avoid getting the flu and 1 is barricaded in his room to avoid it all!  2013 is off to a great start — Flu-a-pool-oo-za.