A Sick Day - Abby's Turn

Abby hasn’t been feeling well the past few days, so this morning, when she still wasn’t feeling well and her fever returned, Bill decided to keep her home.  We have nothing on the schedule today, so I let Shawn sleep in and wake on his own.  He’s still getting over the tail end of his icky-ness from last week too, so I figured that the extra sleep would be good for him.  (As Oma reminded me, “He is his mother’s son, afterall!”  We do love our sleep… in the mornings, at least!)

Once he did wake up, Shawn met me at the top of the stairs with a big smile.  Nice!  I like those kinds of wake-ups!  After I helped him change out of his clothes from yesterday that he fell asleep in and into fresh clothes, I asked him what he’d like for breakfast.  “Eggs!  …and yogurt!”  That was easy.  We shared a double egg omelet, though I would’ve preferred to add cheese or something to it he politely requested, “Just eggs, please.”  Afterwards, Shawn helped me clear the table.  Then, while I was emptying the dishwasher, he helped me by sorting and putting away the clean silverware.  When he was done, he gave me a hug for being such a good helper!  (I'm not sure what I said to get him so excited about sorting silverware, but I hope I can remember it for next time!)

 

A little later, we tracked Oma down at work via Skype and chatted for a little while.  We wouldn’t want her to accomplish too much in one day!  We also figured out how to add email subscriptions to our blogs.  This will definitely help me stay on top of the news from the Barony and the NJ Hardwicks (if we can get her to join the bandwagon) better. 

During lunch, Grandma Fanny showed up at our doorstep unexpectedly.  In her very broken (yet improving) English, she explained that her passport issues were finally resolved and that she was on her way to O’Hare Airport hoping to try to get on a stand-by flight back home to Hong Kong.  Needless to say, she wouldn’t be coming over for our English lessons anymore, as long as she could get on a flight.  (This summer, she was planning a trip to meet some friends in Toronto.  The night before her flight, her daughter was helping her get ready and realized that they had let her passport expire – by. ONE. day.  So, she couldn’t go on her trip.  For the past three or four months, her family has been trying to get her passport fixed.  The winters here are very hard on her, there’s a big family wedding back in Hong Kong coming up, and her husband, who she hasn’t seen almost a year, is still in Hong Kong. She got her new passport today, and she’s very excited to be able to go home again.)  We gave each other a big hug and I wished her a safe trip home.  Though I don’t think she understood the words I was saying, I’m sure she understood the idea.  She turned around and hurried back to her daughter’s house two doors down from us. 

I’ll miss our twice weekly sessions, deciphering her attempts to tell me a story in English, trying to explain certain spelling patterns or grammar rules in as simple and basic language as I can manage, and (mostly) interacting with a student who is so incredibly motivated to learn something that is challenging (ahem - foreign!) to her.  I’ve had a lot of fun dabbling into teaching / tutoring again and I feel like I’ve actually been able to use some of the things from my Reading Specialist program, which I haven’t needed a whole lot in the past year.  I’m happy that she finally gets to go home again, but I’m sad to see her go.

A few minutes later, our doorbell rang again!  Grandma Fanny came back just to give Shawn a pack of his favorite orange flavored yogurt drinks that she picks up for him each time she shops in Chinatown.  They’re the perfect size for little hands and little mouths.  He loves to guzzle them down and since they’re small servings, I don’t mind too much that they’re really mostly sugar.  After I thanked her profusely for being so thoughtful and generous, I was able smuggle the drinks into the refrigerator without Shawn seeing them.  They’ll be a nice surprise for dessert or something later.  I'll need to ration them out, since we won't be getting any more!

When Shawn started to slow down at lunch time, I asked him if he wanted to finish lunch or if it was time for his nap.  The first time I asked him, he said he wanted more lunch.  The second time I asked him, he admitted he was ready for a nap.  WOAH!  I think this is a first!  I can’t think of a time he’s ever been ‘ready’ for a nap or bedtime!  Put this day on the calendar!

While he napped, I intended to accomplish a list of jobs around the house.  Instead, I emailed more with Oma, Skyped with Jennifer and Jonathan, and blogged a bit.  Before I knew it, hours had past and I heard Shawn rattling his doorknob, announcing that he was awake.  Darn!  Well, maybe I’ll get to those things later!

After a bit of play time together, we went to Staples to pick up a few supplies for a gift certificate that I made for Mothers & More.  We are contributing to two new mom gift baskets that will be put into a silent raffle.  I’ve created a glossy card that opens to reveal a free year membership to our chapter.  I also wanted to attach our business card to the inside, but I didn’t want to be permanently affixed.  That’s what led me to Staples, in search of temporary, repositionable glue or tape or something.  Luckily, I found some!  The dispenser looks like white-out tape, but it basically turns paper into Post-It notes!  Now, our business card is inside the card and won’t fall out, but can be removed without destroying it or the gift certificate.  Perfect!

We also stopped at Costco before meeting Raj at home for dinner.  At the end of the day, I didn’t get done nearly as much as I had hoped (especially for having only one child and no scheduled events today), but now that I see it all in writing, I guess it wasn’t a total blow-off of a day!

I got a text from Shelley saying that they took Abby to the doctor, had a throat culture, but everything is clear – even her ears.  She just has a cold.  That’s great news.  Therefore, she’ll be back with us tomorrow!  Shawn will be very happy to see her again.