The good news… me and mine are safe at home right now, and I’m on my way to bed very shortly.
The bad news… the minivan is a hot zone.
The horror… 11 hours into what turned out to be a 14-hour trip, Patches barfed. This was his first experience with it (at least in his working memory), which meant concepts like “aim for the bucket,” and “no, you’re not dying” were completely alien. The only bright spot was that we were only 12 miles from West Wendover when it happened, so a Chevron with a garbage can, a bathroom, and a fresh supply of paper towels was just up ahead.
Well, we took almost an hour getting cleaned up. Then, 30 minutes from home, Link barfed. He’s seven, and he knew to ask for the bucket first… the only piece of good news since the “Wendover 12” sign.
*sigh*
I’ll spare you the TMI. Just thinking about providing you with more graphic descriptions of the ordeal makes me queasy.
We’ve been RELIGIOUS about not sharing food, about washing hands (we have some hand sanitizer gel for washing hands while on the road, even), and about wiping stuff down with Clorox wipes. See, “stomach flu” (as defined by the symptoms we’ve been experiencing) is also known as “viral gastroenteritis.” It’s norovirus, which is not airborne (unless you’re projectile vomiting, and then it’s better described as “ballistic”). You CAN stop the spread if you’re careful.
Well… we discovered that one of my sick-bed “Propel” bottles got re-used as a water-bottle on Tuesday by Link. And Patches, at 2 years old, can become a vector for a dozen different plagues within two minutes of being dipped in bleach. So… the two who were most likely to get sick got sick. That leaves only Sandra and Kiki untouched so far.
Pray that Sandra stays hale, because if SHE falls ill, the whole skein comes unraveled at the corner thread labeled “Mommy.”
–Howard
Argh. Three sick people in a home is not a good thing. It’s a very bad thing!
My personal experience with the gastrenteritida is that it’s not very contagious, even in a house of 7. But whenever there’s little kids involved…
Also, Link is like the coolest name ever.
Link Killmaster.
Cripes, dude.
Get better.
And go to bed. it’s 2 AM.
Vorn
Oh deary dear. Wishing you and your kiddies a quick recovery.
Mom’s sick
Mom being sick is a not fun thing. When my wife got sick enough I take off from work. Fortunately boss is understanding. (Though I did end up ending a Configuration Management document from home one of the times…
What is it with your side and the flu? Seems like every year your whole family is taken out by some variation of “We Need More Buckets!”
I’m gonna go out an a limb here and say maybe yours is the only Tayler family that a group of highly specified DNA-recognizing nanobots can find out in Utah. But then, who would create such a thing, and why? What enemies can the Tayler Corporation have with that kind of power…
Oh, dear. I think I’ve figured it out — some rogue force from the future is trying to undermine our carefully-laid plans for world domination, beginning with buffer disruption! Thank goodness they’ve failed so far. I wonder why they’re limited to sending nanobots back? And with all their technology, why not just kill us outright?
It doesn’t make any sense, dammit!
Damn it, you’ve discovered my master plan, and for that I must have you slain by a series of bumbling minions, each more inept than the last.
😀
Well… hey. Illness is sometimes good for the growing body, causing it to develope a stronger immune system overall and be better able to fight off issues that develope later in life? { : ]
It sounds good on paper anyway! Granted, that doesn’t help the 2yr. old feel any better. : ( There’s prayer for you guys down here in Texas, just so’s you know. ; ]
I guess you’ve actually found a bright side for me in my singlehood. Just one sick person at a time. However, the friendship and having someone there who cares about you seems like a high price to pay. :-p
*hugs* to all of you and yours. (: