By Allan Olson
Oh joy! Seriously, this winter seems to be
dragging its ugly frozen feet across the tundra we call Northern Minnesota.
While the weather has been a little unpleasant lately, visits to our family by
the flu bug has made things even more unpleasant – although, in truth, I have
little to complain about personally.
As mentioned last week, we ended 2014 with one
sick kid, Abigail, who had a nasty five-day bout with the flu before finally
feeling well enough to eat anything, and didn’t really regain her appetite for
about a week. Marcus wasn’t hit nearly as hard; he pretty much maintained his
appetite the entire time and his symptoms weren’t as bad. But we weren’t done.
Last week we got a call from the Nurse’s Office at school saying, “Come get your
child.” Alivia was sick again! Since she had been sick prior to Christmas
vacation, we didn’t think she would be next – we were wrong.
My wife spent three straight days dealing with a
poor child who slept, ran a fever, and of course all the other flu stuff. I was
kicked out of my bed for two nights while the ill child kept my spot warm. I
probably could have kept my spot, but then I wouldn’t have gotten any sleep –
like my wife. Finally, by Friday night, I was able to catch some Zs in my own
bed again. Just in case Alivia still wasn’t feeling fully recovered, we only
moved her to the guest room rather than back to her room downstairs.
Saturday morning, for a couple of reasons
(including a sick child), we decided that it was best for my wife to catch a
ride to the birthday party and then to her annual fishing weekend instead of the
entire family attending to the birthday party as previously planned. So, we
climbed in the van and gave her a ride to the meeting point, nearly to Kelliher.
Since we had a little time to kill after that, I decided this would be a golden
opportunity to go for the geocache at the Blackduck Library, as long as we were
in town at a time when they were actually open. I finally found the first stage
of the coordinates, and then the second, but then it was time to take my wife to
catch her ride. I was determined that we were going to finish this geocache on
the way back, however. After dropping her off, we stopped again in Blackduck,
and with some assistance from the Library staff, we were able to get it figured
it out.
Back at home, it was time to get some work done.
Marcus, Abigail and I started cleaning the van. It’s amazing how fast the kids’
stuff accumulates when left behind, and we quickly filled up some(?) garbage
bags. When the van was cleaned and done – and all of the garbage ready for
disposal – Marcus and I made a quick run to the dump. I assigned the two
remaining healthy children other tasks, and was not happy to find on my return
that Abigail had spent more time playing with the dog than working. I corrected
that problem, and we moved on to cleaning other areas of the house. My thought
was that since my wife had spent all her time with sick kids and I had spent my
time avoiding those sick kids, that we should all work together to get the house
cleaned for mom. We worked for about three hours washing dishes, sweeping,
mopping and picking up garbage upstairs and in the entryway, until I finally
declared it was time to take a break. We took a two hour hiatus before returning
to some other tasks.
That evening, we dined on a finely prepared meal
of leftovers. Alivia, Abigail and I settled in my bedroom room to watch a movie.
Actually, Alivia and I dozed off while the movie played. After the movie, per
our agreement, Abigail headed off to bed, and since Alivia was already crashed
on my side of the bed, I let her be and slept on my wife’s side of the
bed.
On Sunday, it was time to take care of the
laundry and straighten some other things out in the house. That evening I made
waffles for the kids, and we enjoyed some ice cream and caramel for dessert as a
special treat, a thank you to them for helping out.
Then I took a look at the guest room – it really
needed some help. I started moving a few items around, but then decided that I
really didn’t have that much ambition, so I tackled my room instead, with some
help from Abigail. I put clothes away, and she helped pick things up and took
some of their stuff that had wandered into our room and put it away.
I also made sure the kids showered, brushed
their teeth and got to bed on time. Thankfully, my wife was only gone for a
couple days. By the time this article goes to print, my solo parenting duties
will be over. Even more thankfully, the kids won’t have to put up with my
cooking any longer!
Thanks to everyone for
reading and as always, please be
safe while enjoying your favorite outdoor recreational activity and on the
lakes, and remember to take pictures to preserve a lifetime of memories.
Remember to drive safely, and watch out for those buses carrying our children.
Thanks for reading, and have a great week! For more of my columns visit: http://allan-crazykids.blogspot.com.
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