Good Intentions

So, this past weekend Kathy and I went through that first-time-parent rite of passage where your kid wakes up screaming at 2:30 am and you check her temperature and the thermometer reads 105.1 degrees. Crap! I didn't even know human temperatures went that high! Is Riley's brain frying like that egg in those "Just Say No to Drugs" commercials? Whaddo-I-do!? Crap! Crap!

And then the Kaiser advice nurse calmly tells you that as long as she's breathing okay and is staying hydrated and blah blah blah, she's actually fine, and you should just keep an eye on her, and furthermore the fever is just a sign that she's fighting off infection, and that it's not a bad thing. Which might be true, but when your daughter is shivering and sweating and looking up at you with scared, sad, helpless eyes, in my mind this qualifies as a "bad thing".

So Riley's been a feverish mess for the past couple days. It's been funny watching Leah during this time, as she tries to figure out what the heck's wrong with Riley. Here's a scene from this morning:

• Riley is sitting on the floor, screaming.
• Leah toddles out of room.
• Leah toddles back into room, holding a comb above her head. "Cowm!" she triumphantly announces.
• Leah, apparently thinking that Riley is upset about her hairstyle, tries to comb Riley's hair.
  
• Riley, not appreciating Leah's gesture, screams louder.
• Leah toddles out of room.
• Leah toddles back into room, holding a cup of milk. "Mok!" she triumphantly announces, holding the milk aloft.
  
• Leah shoves a cup of milk into Riley's face, poking Riley in the eyebrow with the straw.
• Riley screams louder.
• Leah toddles out of room.
• Leah toddles back into room, holding a book. "Buk!" she triumphantly announces.
• Leah shoves a book into Riley's face.
• Riley screams louder.
• Leah smiles and does a little dance in front of Riley, apparently thinking she just needs a little comic relief.
• Riley screams louder.
  

So, although Leah's intentions are very sweet and good-natured, in the interests of keeping the sisterly peace, our parenting strategy right now is to keep Leah and Riley separated. So for the past couple days, Kathy and I have each become the single parent of one kid. And I've got to say, I don't particularly like being the single parent of one kid. Nope, not one bit.

So get well soon, Riley. Of course, as soon as Riley gets well, Leah will get sick, but hey, for now, let's not go there.