Presents

Since our visit with the girls, Little One has become the proud new owner of Her very own Ethiopian virus! It came as an extra in the goodie-bag with warm-fuzzies, happy thoughts, and sugar-coated memories. An added bonus! Since the day after our visit She has been investigating the various aspects of this new acquirement- fever, sniffles, coughs, various icky gooey stuff- and found it to be quite extensive in its offerings. In fact we dropped by the doctor yesterday and found that in its current permutation it even includes a "wow that's a good and nasty ear infection!"
The news must be out that She has a birthday coming soon. Because three teeth have also chosen this time to pop in, bringing a jello mold and a nice basket of inflammation and throbbing pain. The gifts just keep coming!
Thanks to this shower of generosity, Little One and I have put many miles on the rocking chair, and spent a couple of looong nights just exhausting ourselves with all the fun. Did you know that booger-goo and tears when heated by fever to just the right degree, becomes an incredibly stalwart bonding material? Well yes! It does! Little One is now welded to my body.
I'm on my third cup of coffee and I hate to see my Little One so miserable. But see, these are days of busy, exploratory independence, Peanuts. And Somewhere in our fourth hour of rocking last night, She coughed and woke and the lip popped out and the whimper made it shiver. Then She cracked Her puffy little eyes and saw me There. She took a deep, raspy breath, snuggled in reeeeaaally close, and fell back asleep, still clinging tight to my shirt. I can't make Her better, and that would be the best thing. But the power to comfort, simply by existing and caring, is a pretty incredible feeling. I might even call it a gift.