Now I have one on my arm just south of my elbow and given what my wife has been through, she is not going to sit be and let me rationalize my way through this one.  So she insisted that I go to the doctors office and they put me on antibiotics.  According to the doctor, she believes that there was only one MRSA related death in the past so-and-so years in the US, but she suggested that I should try to avoid becoming a modification to a statistic.  I cannot fault that logic.  I’m sure the meds are going to do a number on my digestive tract – they often don’t sit well anyway and this one is particularly rough.  But it is a small price to pay.

I am also in pain for other reasons as well.  For one, I have a strain injury in my hip from a couple years back that tends to flare up every once and a while (e.g., when I exercise my legs hard, when it is about to rain).  Secondly, I spent a good portion of my wife’s hospital stay being very busy at home and not only because of the kids.  Luckily I had plenty of help with the kids – the first few days my mother-in-law would give me breaks in the afternoons to get things done like disinfecting our house and maybe fitting in a visit to the hospital.  Then my mom drove up from NC to help out for the weekend.  The latter became the catalyst to a lot more work.

See, my family is a bunch of doers.  Every weekend there are projects to work on.  Every vacation there needs to be an action-packed itinerary.  I was always the black sheep.  I never really rebelled per se, but I have always been more prone to taking a more laid-back approach to life.  So it is not really an option for one of my parents to just hang out for the weekend – there need to be things to do (either in the form of activities or projects).  This weekend, it was a mix.  We took the kids a number of places, and in between and while they were sleeping we took on home improvement projects (e.g., install new lighting in the dining room, paint the kitchen and the hallway).  The end result is that the kids had a fun weekend and the house looked very nice for my wife’s return … and I’m tired and sore.  So now I will head up to bed to saw some logs next to my wife (sorry, honey).

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).