Has anyone ever wished for food poisoning before? (For themselves, I mean.) Of course, I'd rather not feel sick at all. But I'm really hoping the reason I threw up last night and felt nauseated and weak all day today was that I ate something a bit "off" yesterday. Perhaps the leftover chicken I had for dinner. Because if it's a virus, that means chances are Elsa and Clio are going to get it, too, and I can't deal with any more sick babies. They just got over colds. Then before that it was a stomach virus. Colds before that. And more colds. They don't even go to daycare, for God's sake!
As for me, I have been sick more times in the past six months of my life than I think I've been in the previous six years. Several colds, a stomach virus and a case of (I hope!) food poisoning. Oh yeah, and a month-long bout of clinical depression which still hasn't entirely cleared up. Grrr. What gives? I've heard a lot of people comment that this has been a particularly bad year for illnesses, but I feel like people say that every year. Does having children weaken your immune system? It's not like I'm sleep deprived. I eat well, I drink a lot of water, I wash my hands. Don't these viruses realize I'm trying take care of two toddlers, hold down a job, and write the great American novel, among other things? Could they show just a teensy little bit of mercy?
In other, healthier news, on Saturday, at the invitation of BabyMama (wife of Babby Daddy), we joined her and Josie and apparently every child under seven in the city of Arlington, Massachusetts plus their parents at an Indoor Beach Party for little ones in a school gym. And let me tell you, that Josie sure is a bitch. (JUST KIDDING!!!)
Seriously, we had a great time. There were beach balls and inner tubes for kids to play with, cardboard boxes and containers for them to make "Recycled castles" with, wading pools full of toys and a couple of "sandboxes" with rice for sand. There was pizza and ice cream and donut holes (three of the four junk food groups), Beach Boy tunes, and general chaos. Outside it poured rain, but inside it was surf city, man.
This season it's all about the lei-as-choker
Adding to that genuine "real beach" feel, was the fact that a couple of times I no idea where one or both of my children were. Keeping tabs on both of them at once wasn't easy, especially when Alastair ducked out for a few minutes to run an errand. But it was a pretty friendly crowd. And, unlike at the real beach, there was no ocean for the girls to wander haplessly into. Mostly they just went toddling up to various groups of parents and kids and stared longingly at their food. Here's Elsa in action:
I was amazed, actually, at how independent and adventurous all three girls were -- Josie, Elsa, and Clio. They were happy to walk around and explore, braving belligerent three year-olds, barrelling six-year-olds and lots of distracted adults. Clio stuck a little closer to us, but struck out on her own a few times. She also had some inner tube adventures:
As did Elsa...here seen making her new "uh oh" face. And hanging on to a souvenir from the Recyled Castle-making area. (You venture out in the driving rain to the next town over for something fun and different, and what do they do? They play with tupperware. Just like at home.)
So, that was our day at the beach. I guess with so many people crammed into one space, tossing around baby-slobber-infested beach balls and things, it's not terribly unlikely that I could have picked up some kind of virus. But until somebody small starts puking, I'm going to hold onto hope that it was salmonella, e.coli, anything -- just not another something we can all catch!
