Megan Again:’Stop Coughing In my Face’

Megan Again:’Stop Coughing In my Face’
By Megan Wirts

This past week was rough, people. I have had a sick child home from school every day for over a week now. An entire week of me saying things like, “Stop coughing in my face!” and “Throw the tissues in the trash, not on the floor!”, over and over and over. Last week it was the boy, down for the count with a double ear infection and bronchitis. This week it’s the girl, she caught the germs that infected her brother and now her asthma has kicked in.

Good times my friends, good times.
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Needless to say, that by Saturday I was feeling a strong sense of cabin fever and desperately needed to get out my germ-infested house. Luckily for me,...

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...my friends and my husband could sense my desperation and could tell that any moment I was about to smash a hatchet through a bathroom door and go all Jack Nicholson a la The Shining on my sweet and innocent family. That’s why on Saturday afternoon my friends snatched me up and took me out for the day and my husband took over sick small person duty. I never rushed out the door faster.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my children and caring for them is one of my greatest joys. I hate seeing them sick and I want nothing more than to make them feel better.I just can’t be coughed on, puked on and used as a human tissue for more than seven days in a row without losing my mind. I know that I am not alone in this. I needed a freaking break.

So, my dear friends, invited me out on their date. That’s right people, my friends that rarely get a date night to themselves sacrificed their alone time to cure my serious case of cabin fever. I really do have the best friends.

This is how the conversation went:
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Friend: The kids are at a sleepover and we planned on going on a date tomorrow afternoon.

Me: Awesome! Any big plans?

Friend: Well, we wanted to go to the orchid show and to a couple stores, and…this might sound a little weird, but do you want to go with us?

Me: YES! PLEASE! TAKE ME WITH YOU!

Now, we would usually do something like this as a double date, but with the kids being sick they couldn’t be left alone or with a babysitter. Plus, my husband was all too aware that I needed to get out of the house, and was more than willing to take over as human handkerchief/med giver/snuggler. So, off I went and I was not even sad about being the third wheel, I was getting out!! FREEDOM!!

Fresh air! Grown up conversation! Nobody coughing in my face!! This was a dream come true.

I was also really looking forward to this orchid show we were heading too. I recently had a Meryl Streep movie marathon and watched the 2002 film Adaptation. It’s about a guy that is writing a screenplay about a book called The Orchid Thief. If you haven’t seen it, well, let’s just say I was on the lookout for the “ghost orchid”.

Sadly, I did not see one.

I did, however, see many beautiful orchids, I was not with my sick children and I was with two of my best friends. It was a great day all around.

It was just what I needed to keep my sanity intact, because as soon as I walked back into my house I was met with coughing and “I don’t feel good. I just want to snuggle you”,

And this time it was coming from my husband.

If you are struggling through this cold and flu season too, I’m here with you. Taking care of sick kids (or husbands or wives) is no easy task and can become overwhelming quickly,

.So  make sure you take care of yourself too.



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