The Post in which I Whine Unabashedly in hopes that I'll Feel Better Afterwards

I started feeling it coming on Monday.  Like so many persistent door-to-door sales people, it kept knocking deep down in my chest all day long.  Monday night it had broken down the door, and Ava had succumbed also. By Tuesday, Ava and I were officially down with the flu, and by Wednesday so was Alec.

In a neatly staggered line of dominoes, four of the five of us got it,  one by one, until by Thursday EVERYONE IN THE HOUSE WAS SICK...except Marvin. Who happened to be taking the week off for our family's Christmas break. 

We missed out on:

~a trip to IKEA I was supposed to take with one of my girlfriends

~a guys-only trip to the shooting range for Marvin

~our movie date with the boys to see the new Narnia film

~trips to the grocery store for food for Christmas dinner

~attending Christmas Eve church

~our annual big fondue dinner on Christmas Eve with my in-laws and the kids cousins

~my favorite part of Christmas; staying up late Christmas Eve wrapping presents with Marvin

~Christmas dinner with my parents and brother

Christmas morning was less than nice. The kids took turns being cranky, and I still had that After the Flu Paralyzed Feeling. The picture at the top says it all. Fortunately (we thought) the boys had each gotten a large Lego set, and so would have something to keep themselves occupied. Unfortunately, Alec was still so tired from being sick that he broke down into tears many times before the sets were finished.

Marvin basically spent his entire week of vacation taking temperatures, dosing out elderberry syrup and vitamin C, wiping snotty noses, cooking, doing laundry, mediating quarrels, cleaning up vomit and diarrhea, and, well, I think we get the idea. He basically spent his break being me. While I spent the week being sick.

Honestly, I can't think of anything nice that happened last week. I can almost always think of something good in any situation, but this one is really challenging. It basically sucked. On many levels. And now it's all over, Marvin is back at work, and I'm left with toppling piles of Christmas all over the house. And I still don't feel good. And Benji still doesn't feel good. And I'm in a bad mood...

So...

if you read to the end of this post, thanks for listening to me whine...

don't feel like you have to make me feel better about it...

I just wanted to vent.