I’ve been sick. I’m starting to feel better now, but for the last full week, I’ve been all but incapacitated with the flu (or possibly another virus, the ER doc wasn’t going to test, because the treatment is the same). Besides having a fever ranging from a very low 100.1 to 103.5, I’ve thrown up, had upset stomach, chills, aches cough, sore throat, and headache. They checked for pneumonia because my chest ached so much. It’s been an unpleasant week! At the hospital, to add very confusing insult to injury, I had a very vivid fever dream that Richie Incognito held a press conference and announced that no one knew his true name or identity, that he’d been fooling everyone for years, and no one would ever find out. And then he vanished. I had to later ask Bob who Richie Incognito is. On Tuesday (I guess, it could have been Monday, but we’ll say Tuesday), I had a nosebleed last an hour that was so bad it pulsed out, and when I leaned forward and pinched the bridge of my nose, it backed up into my sinuses and came out my other nostril and mouth. It felt like drowning.

But still. I’m thankful, and I’ve been thankful all week. I’ve been sick, but not really sick; I’m going to get better – I am getting better. I have my babies all around me, and since the big kids have been on vacation, we have watched a lot of terrible movies, including one with live action cats and dogs and Jeff Goldblum. I have Bob here everyday; neither of us have a job that makes it difficult or impossible to see each other. In fact, we both have jobs that make it easier for us to see each other. We are still staying with my parents while we house hunt, and they are very generous with their space and with making us all feel welcome. The twins are doing well in school, with good challenges ahead of them and some victories under their belts. Grant has moved up to the waddler room at daycare and loves his new friends. On Friday, the big kids will march in the Santa Claus Lane parade here in town.

We are safe, warm, fed, and loved. We are lucky, and we are thankful.