Finals, Fevers, Flu and Feeling Frazzled

Ever feel like life is conspiring against your every effort to have a relaxed day (much less more than just "a day")? That is my feeling lately, especially the last two days. You see, it's the end of the school year, here, and having my daughter schooled through the California Virtual Academy means that one, I have to be sure she stays caught up- and when she isn't, making sure she gets caught up; and two, that she has time to study for her finals, so that we can show that having her home has been a good decision- beneficial for her grades and study habits. What that means is that I'm spending significantly more time looking into her lessons, in order to try to help her study and understand each subject. I'd really like to know: Can anyone explain to me what the value of learning what the figurative language means in poetry, has for adulthood? I'm serious. If you can tell me a valid use for this knowledge, for the average person (not including teachers- English or otherwise) I would like to know what it is. Anyway, back to the subject at hand (no pun intended.) I like learning, but I didn't care much for school when I was there, and I'm not liking it much more now. I think I'm just nuts. Maybe someday, I'll look back on this and find that it did help me in some way, as I'm sure that it must be. (Right?) I just don't see it right now. (Except of course, for having my daughters unspoken gratitude.) :)

So after the day's school work was done, we took some time to go play at the skatepark, so that Mercedes could hang with her "newly found" brother (her father- whom we just found, as some of you know- has a son as well.) While we were there, Mercedes fell and hurt her wrist. Though we don't think it's broken, it is certainly hurting quite a bit. After coming back home, getting ready for dance practice, and going to dance; we then had a graduation to attend, and more of her "lost" family to meet. We didn't get home until about 9:30. I just started to relax, and was getting ready to go to bed, when horror of horrors, the next installment of my trying day was to begin.

My daughter (the youngest one) woke up at about 11:00 with her bed full of vomit. So I did what any caring mother would do: I cleaned her up, cleaned her bed up, gave her a drink to rinse out her mouth, put clean sheets and blankets on the bed, and put her back down. Less than 30 minutes later, she was screaming again! I went back in there, and this time, it was much messier! YUCK! My poor baby had a case of the stomach flu.

After a night consumed by holding her over the edge of my bed to be sick (it's the only way either of us could get what little bit of sleep we did) and much of yesterday rushing to her side to place a bowl under her mouth (and cleaning up when I wasn't fast enough) I finally took her to the doctor. I was told it was "the sickness of the week" and that it was going around. Apparently the doctor was right, because when she sent me to the Children's Hospital to have the baby treated for dehydration, it seemed almost every child there, was there for the same thing. We spent the evening sitting in uncomfortable chairs (remember this is after almost no sleep, and an already frazzling two days) with her in a fever induced sleep. I got to hold her down while they gave her tylenol for her fever in the only other way to do it, when a person can't keep anything down (use your imagination, it's not hard to figure out.) A few hours later, I then got to hold her down again while they gave her IV fluids. I think I cried more than she did. This is my two year old, we're talking about here. She kept telling me she wanted to go home, and that she was all better now. :( Well, after the IV and the medicine they gave for her stomach through the IV, she did look much better. No more vomiting, and no more fever. We got home about 10:30. I did get some sleep last night, but then this morning, the fever was back, and although there was no vomiting, we had other messes ALL DAY LONG! I think I preferrd the other. I know the smell of my house was better with the other. So could you all do me and my family a favor? Pray for us. Pray that I can keep my sanity, that my baby gets well, that my other daughter's wrist heals quickly and that we can somehow get back to a state of normalcy. I hate that when it rains it pours! Have a blessed week, all of you, I'm not sure I'll be up to posting again before the week is over.