Getting By

The short story behind this post is that Andres threw up at daycare today, necessitating Natalia to take today and tomorrow off as sick days.

The longer story behind this post is that Andres threw up at daycare today, necessitating Natalia to take today and tomorrow off as sick days since I only have 1 more sick day left in the bank (my accrual rate seems to be much slower than my usage rate), both kids are on antibiotics, nobody is getting nearly enough sleep as they need, and both Natalia and I retreat to our laptops from 9-midnight to catch up on work that we can't get done during the day because everybody is sick. It is not a good cycle. And, each time I think we have broken the cycle and are getting back to normal (like this morning), something happens (Andres throws up at daycare) to confirm that we are nowhere near the end of it. This winter seems to be payback for the relative ease of our first winter with a baby, way back in 2007-08.

I'm fortunate to be friends with/work with a number of people who are either in the same position as me or who clearly remember when their kids were not old enough to wipe their own noses. Their advice is all the same: "just get through it however you can; getting by is a success in itself." And it's good advice: there's not much else I can do. Baby needs amoxicillin (again)? Need to buy it. Big boy has a fever and can't go to daycare? Take a sick day and work at night. So that's my new winter philosophy: forego the long-term for the short-term, and just get through each day however possible.

I've been thinking a lot recently about the idea of "getting by." And what I've realized is that "getting by" is no substitute for "doing well", and, in many cases, means "no frills." Next week is February vacation for Natalia and the kids. Picking up Celia today, I had the idea that it would be lovely to head somewhere warmer even for a couple days--see the beaches of South Carolina, head to Disneyland, whatever--and escape our tiny condo and the 6 feet of snow piled in our front yard. Just get somewhere to breath fresh air. But no sooner had that thought formed than it vanished in a puff of impossibility. There's no way we can afford any type of trip despite the number of hours we both work. So we continue to get by (and I am thankful for that, as I know there are many people who are in worse situations than we are), as "doing well" seems far beyond our reach at this point. Heck, at this point, "getting by with no runny noses" sounds like a dream.

And there he goes--my poor Andres just threw up again! He has earned his day at home with Natalia. I see a lot of naps on the horizon.