I apologize to those few readers I have for my sporadic and infrequent posting as of late. For much of my recent absence, the issue has mostly been that I’ve been busy with work and too drained at the end of the day to sit and write something. But for the past week I’ve had a more serious excuse for my lack of presence – My wife was checked into the hospital on Tuesday for a bad staph infection in her knee that turned out to be MRSA.
She is still there and will likely be there until at least Monday. She is being treated with mutliple antibiotics to clear up the infection and pain relievers to make her time more bearable (though it would go further to do so if the meds made the food taste good). She is doing better and things are looking positive, so she seems to be in good care. I, on the other hand, have been spending my time filling her shoes. And I have to say that my children can be exhausting sometimes.
Mind you, I’m not one of these dads who just goes to work all day and has little understanding or appreciation for what happens at home while I’m gone. I spent the first year of my daughter’s life as a stay-at-home dad, so I know what is involved. And I spend independent time with my kids all the time, so I know what my wife goes through on a day-to-day basis. But with kids, there are good days and there are bad days. And today so far has not been turning out to be one of the good ones for my son.
He tends on the hyper side a lot of the time regardless of his mood. He runs, he jumps, he climbs, he throws and kicks things. I have no doubt that I have a future athlete on my hands. But he is 2 and he is all about immediate gratification and has little tolerance for things not going according to his plan or schedule. Today alone he has thrown 3 tantrums – one in a parking lot with cars driving around – and a few mini-spats and most of them have been over small and trivial things (e.g., I wouldn’t give him a pacifier or he wanted Grammy to hold his hand, not me). I am currently enjoying a reprieve as I managed to get him to take a much needed nap.
His sister is a bit easier – she is 5 and her main issue is one of occasional whininess. But generally I can tell her what we are doing or what is expected of her and she complies without complaint. She will whine about the usual things (e.g., finishing her veggies, going to bed, putting on the socks I gave her – don’t get me started), but within reason and typically without severe escalation.
So my hands have been full. Luckily my work has been very understanding in the matter and didn’t balk at my taking this time off. Luckily I’ve had access to in-laws and now my own mother to give me occasional breaks (not to rest, mind you, but to get other work done like disinfecting our entire house). And luckily my wife has been doing a good enough job with the kids that they understand the routines and don’t fight me on any of the big things. All that said, I’ll be glad when my wife is home and back to normal … for many reasons.
For those interested in keeping up with my wife’s condition, I’ve been posting details on HER blog – http://www.dtemama.com. So feel free to check there and wish her well via comments there (she doesn’t read my blog that often).