A Story of Puke

Really, it is about puke. If you do not like to read about such things or if your stomach is weak enough to get sick just by reading about other people's puke, you should stop reading now.

Really.

Time: 1:00 am
Location: Bed, nice and cozy, warm, sleeping soundly.
Situation: My cell phone vibrates and wakes me up. I groggily grab it, first thinking it must be time to get up (I use my phone as my alarm sometimes), but then I notice the time. I look at my phone. It says Lil is calling me. Why in the world would Lil, who lives in my house and was in bed when I went to bed, be calling me at 1:00 in the morning?

"Meg, Cora just threw up and I don't know what to do."

Indeed, Cora had thrown up A LOT. Her pillow, blankets, pajamas, and sheet were disgusting. Apparently she had been crying and calling for me. Apparently I slept through it. Lil got things for me and held Cora while I did my best to clean up the mess without turning on the light. Ruby managed to sleep through the whole thing. We all went back to bed.

Later the same day: Bedding was in the washer. It was just me and the girls, as usual. We ate breakfast and sat down to read stories. I had both girls on my lap. The girls had been coughing some, but not terrible. All of a sudden Ruby starts to throw up. I put my right hand up under her mouth. Almost simultaneously, Cora starts to throw up. I put my left hand under her mouth.

Isn't it interesting the situations you find yourself in as a mother? Things I never thought I could have handled, I've survived.

Here I sat, two sick girls on my lap -- one of them covered in puke -- and two hands full of puke. It is a situation in which I hope never to find myself again. Ever. Cora seemed to be more sick than Ruby, at least she threw up more and was therefore covered in it (my hand just wasn't big enough). I had no idea what to do. It wasn't like I even had a hand to grab something with.

Well, Ruby seemed to be done puking, at least at that moment, so I had her climb down. I tried to get her to bring me something I could use to clean up a little. Either she couldn't reach any of the stuff on the dryer or she didn't understand what I wanted, because she didn't bring anything.

Plan B: I dumped the puke from my right hand into my left hand so I could carry Cora into the laundry room. I set her on the floor while I washed my hands in the laundry sink. Miraculously enough, I discovered that only my hands had puke on them. I stripped the girls down and stuck them in the bathtub.

We spent the rest of the day with buckets nearby. I don't think the girls quite understand the purpose of the buckets. Since we didn't actually need them again that day, they didn't have a reason to learn. Which is really the way I prefer it.

The most amazing part of the day to me? I managed to have two sick girls throwing up on me at the same time without me throwing up, too! It is amazing what a mother can survive. :-)