Falling behind and catching up

No doubt everyone is crazy busy this time of year and our family is no exception.  Three days each week I am up at 3:40 so I can work my seasonal job and be done in time to get the kids after school.  Mike picks up the slack in the morning and gets them fed and to school.  It's chaotic and we have to remind ourselves that it only lasts a month or so and the little bit of extra cash is always helpful.  I was reminded of the deadline for two online college courses one week before they were both due.  Grateful for the reminder and thankful my family understood my need to disappear in the evenings to get them done.

Throw a stomach bug into the mix of snow, shoveling and shopping and it's a good time for everyone.  

Last week Cal had what appears to have been a 24-hour thing.  Vomiting, low-grade fever  and lots of sleeping.  As a parent I hate to see my kids feeling lousy.  It's normal to be concerned and I'm grateful I had some time off I could use to be home with him.  After missing one day of school, Cal was pretty much back to normal.  

Fast forward one week.  Now Mike feels like crap.  Immediately my mind is wondering if it's more than the stomach thing.  Is whatever this is, Lynch related?  Is there cancer somewhere?  I'm not obsessing over it, but I'll admit the thoughts are there.  He hasn't slept well in over a month now this.  I keep looking at him for signs of something more serious.  Three and a half years ago when we first found out he had cancer, it hit me hard that I hadn't noticed how sick he really looked.  When you see someone day after day you don't always notice the gradual changes.  I look now.  A lot.  He's pretty cute anyway, so it's not exactly a hardship.

Now that it's been a few days, Mike is feeling better and there has been more confirmation that a stomach bug has been going around.  He still isn't sleeping great, but at least the worst of the intestinal stuff seems to be getting better - or not worse anyway.  

It has taken me 4 days to write this post and I haven't even begun to sort out how to write about my last trip to Washington DC.  I can't believe Christmas is less than one week away.  How did that happen?  No time to make Christmas cookies this year either.  I think we'll survive.  I'm looking forward to 1:00 tomorrow afternoon when I walk away from my seasonal job for another 10 months.  Maybe then I can start to feel like I'm actually catching up.