Off the Rails

I have been quarantined from the house since I have been knocked over by that nasty stomach flu bug. At first I was holed up in my room, but little Gideon just sat criss-cross-applesauce in front of the door, staring and waiting. Then I started thinking about that gap underneath the door. I bet you can tell where I'm going with this. Yes, I could sense the particles from my sick breaths evolving into that personified Mucinex guy. Only my Mucinex guy had horns that liked to rip holes into the sides of the stomach. Nasty. Truly. So, I went to an empty home that was offered to me since that family has been on vacation. There was a lot of sleeping and puking, to tell you the truth. It really wasn't a getaway. It was a place that had a couch three leaps from a bathroom. That made it perfect for the functionality of it all.

I went to see my doctor this morning to find out what I had to do in order to GO HOME (I have not seen the boys since Monday, really). I was told to let it run it's course and come back home tonight, once the boys were already sleeping. My stomach was teetering all day long, and making really scary noises. If I had a microphone, I would have recorded it all for Halloween. I was picturing the Creature of the Vile Bile Lagoon. What got scarier is the fact that I have not watched daytime TV in a ridiculous amount of time. I tuned into Rachel Ray for the first time. Yup. First ever, and she is adorable and sweet and makes me want to cook. I get it, America. On top of that, she had Michael J. Fox on the show (I promise this is going somewhere). I ended up sobbing profusely, and it shook things up even more in the stomach region. I used to really like noodles. Not anymore. Here is what Michael J said, the guy I feel like I grew up knowing in a Delorean-werewolf kind of way:

"However well you plan out your life and whatever courses you take and whatever degrees you get, your life is really going to get most interesting when it goes off the rails, when it blows up and something happens that you didn't expect - you have some loss or some misadventure. If you're open to what happens next and you just kind of accept it for what it is - you're going to learn something and your life will improve."

Thanks, Michael J Fox... That resonated with me. I'm off the rails and accepting it. This made me think of our past weekend together. Gideon started to sob because he wanted to go to the "ZOOOoooOOOOooOOOOooo!" We can't go there because of the spores floating around. That isn't a paranoid mom thing. That's a straight out instruction from Dr. Lobel. So, we went to the Fish Hatchery where Gideon got to feed the fish outside. There was no petting, but he was still in awe. On Sunday, he went on and on about going to the Airzoo to see airplanes. Again, we can't go because of the germs. So, Tom built the boys rockets and we set them off in an empty field. We call this "Cancerification" in our house: Zoo becomes cancerified into the fish hatchery; Airzoo gets cancerified into rocket launching. Maybe it sounds like we are taking such a serious word and misusing it, and some may even feel uncomfortable by this terminology. But as Micheal J said, we "accept it for what it is," but we SURE are not going to let it douse our fire of fun. We will make fun of it before we do that.

Another BEYOND fun thing that I MUST share: Gideon, Tom, and Brody got to go on a PLANE RIDE this morning. It was set up by a former student's mom and dad (the Gouley Family). I am beyond sad to say that I was not allowed to go. I couldn't even be there for pictures, per the doctor recommendation. Even when I explained how important it was to Gideon, she said, "Not getting that boy sick is as equally important." Yes, I know. BUT: GIDEON FLEW THE PLANE and even got logged for his first flight. He signed the log book we were given (precious scribbles), and we plan on adding to it as the years come to pass. He told me on the phone that it was "The best thing ever!" I will upload pictures soon, but it has been so long since I have written on this blog! My fingers were ready to get it all out there... Micheal J Fox quote and all.

As far as Gideon's health is concerned, he is still anti-food, and is still losing weight. BUT, he is in GOOD spirits. I need to thank all of the healthy people who came to my aid while I was sick to watch the boys! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

I cannot wait to see their little faces in the morning. The earlier, the BETTER! For once, I truly mean that! See what happens when life goes off the rails?