The F Word

We got hit by the flu. "Hit" may actually be too gentle of a word- I think it's more appropriate to say we got punched by the flu, or perhaps, b!tch-slapped by the flu. Whatever it was, it was ugly. Matt started feeling kind of sickly Sunday night. I figured he had indulged a bit too much in the deep-fried Superbowl feast I had made, so I kind of shrugged it off. But when he woke up Monday morning shivering so hard the bed was shaking, I thought we might be in for something worse.

I had already planned to take Will to the doctor Monday morning because he had started up with fever/coughing over the weekend. I decided to bring Hays along for the ride since he had some free-flowing snot in a lovely shade of green. Thirty minutes and a couple of positive flu tests later, we had our answer. Our utterly fantastic pediatrician wrote Tamiflu prescriptions for the entire family, saving Matt and I $80 worth of doctor co-pays to officially diagnose the obvious. I was starting to ache and cough at that point, so the doctor told me to go ahead and start the medication as well, and to hold onto Mason's just in case.

The next couple of days were brutal. Matt was sick, soooooooo sick. Seriously, this one ranks in the top three of illnesses he's had in the decade we've been together. The twins, though technically sick, were as full of energy as they usually are. Matt was convinced they're just some evil flu-carriers, because they sure didn't act like they were feeling bad. I hovered somewhere in the middle. Tired, achy, congested, but well enough to stay on my feet and look after everyone else and try to keep the house taken care of to the lowest of standards. It was not fun. Matt and I were starting to feel a little better, and I thought we had weathered the worst of it. But then Mason woke up yesterday with a fever. Yup, five for five. The flu got us all. TKO.

But I think we're on the mend. I'm feeling pretty good, and Matt felt human enough to go into work today. He went late and I don't know how long he'll stay, but he's there. (I did threaten to leave him if he goes overboard and relapses. I know I said "in sickness and in health" but I've got to draw the line somewhere.) Mason's kind of puny, but better than he was yesterday. And the twins are their usual crazy animal selves. To get this crud out of the house, I have purchased a big ol' container of clorox wipes and a can of Lysol, and I'm de-funking everything in sight. You might have won this round, flu, but I'm wiping you out!!!!