Side effects may include ringing ears

Avery has been sick the last few days.  It started Thursday morning.  Now, as I have pointed out in previous posts, Avery is not a morning person.  I woke up with a massive headache that day and was in no mood for any funny business.  I literally felt like I had a coconut for a head and every time I turned it or bent down, all the juice was sloshing around in there.  So when Avery started in about not feeling good and having a headache, I turned a deaf ear.  I channeled my own mother for a moment and decided if she was not bleeding out of her eyeballs, she was going to school.  Though I did tell her if she felt bad later, to have the nurse call me and I would come running.

Well, I spent the majority of that day at the school for a project and left, apparently, at the same time the nurse was trying to get in touch with me.  For the next 30 minutes after leaving, my cell phone decided not to accept any one's phone calls. I finally got wind that the school was trying to reach me and drove back.  By this time, my husband had already left work to get her.  It was kind of a mess. 

Fast forward through a LONG doctor's visit, which included a strep test and a finger prick and poor Avery was beside herself.  She had a fever, a nasty cough and was worn out.  I had to get some medicine and popsicles at the store so we stopped by Publix.  Can I ask why Motrin makes children's tablets (for ages 6-11) and they are not chewable AND you aren't supposed to dissolve them?  Do any of your 6 year olds swallow pills yet?  Much less when they have a sore throat?  Anyway, after paying $5 and change for some blue raspberry Advil that Avery swore she would gladly take, we went home.

Can I just say that when my daughter says she will take medicine without a fuss, I should just go ahead and slap myself.  I believe her EVERY TIME.  I should know better by now.  I am actually surprised our neighbors didn't call the police after the show she put on over taking 1.5 teaspoons of that Advil.  My ears were ringing by the time we were done.  And we repeated this every 6 hours or so for the next 24 hours.  

I will say two things though.  One, she wasn't puking and I am very thankful for that small miracle.  And two, she was in a pretty good mood for the most part.  Other than insisting I alone have anything to do with her, she was not whiny.  

Then about 2am Friday night, I was startled awake by blood curdling screams.  Her head hurt.  It hurt so badly that it woke her up.  After giving her medicine, juice and a cool cloth, I was out of things to do.  She was still screaming though.  Begging me to make it stop.  Have you ever been there?  Completely helpless to do anything?  For your own child?  It was terrible, it always is.  So I rocked her.  And sang to her.  And finally she went back to sleep.

Thankfully, she is on the mend now.  She ran a fever all day Saturday but not since.  Her cough sounds horrific but she is breathing easy.  The whole thing just makes me take a step back and think.  The kids' little bouts with sickness always do.  I can give them every thing I know that will make them WELL but the only thing that ever makes them feel BETTER is being comforted.  I hope that I will always be able to know how to do that for them.  It's the one job as a mom that I hope I never fail at.  I don't always feed them great things.  Avery thinks saltines are a food group.  I don't always give them my undivided attention when I should.  Alden thinks the answer to every question is "Hang on".  But where ever I make missteps in my journey, I hope that they always know my arms are open.  And that they are literally part of me and I could never turn them away.  By comforting them, they comfort me.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."  2 Corinthians 1:3-4