Drew

Drew didn't go to school this morning. He has to be really not feeling well to miss calculus. I know he has had a stuffy nose and cough, but he is taking over the counter stuff and upped his vitamin C. I am concerned. I have to be at the desk at 9, but right afterwards, I head home to make sure he is alright.



He is still in bed, eyes glassy, nose red and swollen, cough deep and wracking. He has had some honey tea, but poor baby is miserable. This is not something I can fix, and he is already doing the things that need to be done except for drinking more fluids. I ask what he would like to drink, and he waves me off. He would rather just be left alone.



I ache to hug him and comfort him as I used to do when he was little. But he is a man now. Caring takes a new method of delivery. More along the lines of checking in, making sure he has Kleenex and cough drops, when he is less zonked, having movies at the ready. And watching to make sure things don't suddenly take a turn for the worse.



I am much less fastidious about keeping everything sanitary and germ free these days because my immune system is not under direct attack. Still, the cautions remain. I have been using a separate towel which hangs apart from anyone else's. Before touching faucets, I use the sanitizing wipes. I don't eat or drink after anyone, even just a bite. I make sure when I run the dishwasher that there is plenty of hot water. At work I wipe down everything in the public areas, especially phones, where I am scheduled to be after someone else has touched things.



And I take my own preventive Vitamin C and keep the walking exercise going. Stay healthy. Otherwise you are not able to take care of Drew when he is not feeling up to par. Healthy is good.