Come What May, The Leaves Will Turn

Photograph by my sister.

Last year at this time I was newly pregnant and feeling sick almost all of the time. The cold weather and the beautiful colored leaves were a relief. I would drive the kids up the canyon to look at the leaves after school because I was tired of being at home, but didn't have the energy to do anything else. Actually the cold weather was not a relief, just the leaves.

This year everyone else is getting sick. It seems to be a mild but tenacious version of the flu, where the child is obviously ill, and their fatigue is interspersed with bouts of happy energy, and this happy energy is interrupted by rising temperatures and dizzy-feeling heads. It lasts longer than I would like. Two kids down, two kids to go. The baby is absolutely NOT allowed to get the flu. So he is not in the run down.

Last night I dreamed I was driving in the car with a friend who recently lost his father. He was dealing with some difficult things, and I was thinking of something to say that would be true, helpful, and comforting. Then I woke up because Ben had jumped out of bed because my little boy was calling loudly for him, because said little boy's head hurt.

Tylenol can only heal so much. For the rest of life there is time, space, and beautiful colored leaves.