Winter can be rough. I know we don’t get 158 feet of snow here in Fishers like they do north of us, but still, it can be rough. After the craziness of Christmas in December, January is brutal. Sure, it’s a bit slower-paced than December, but after 31 days and four total hours of daylight, I’m usually getting a little stir-crazy for spring.
My wife, Megan, and I and our two kids have one saving grace for light at the end of the winter tunnel. And that is, we have several events in the month of February for us to look forward to. We have several family members’ birthdays, Valentine’s Day, and best of all, Megan’s birthday. By the time all of that is over, it’s almost spring!
This past January was the same gray, dreary month as it always is, but we knew February was coming fast. And then there it finally was. The cruel turd of a month that never ends is finally over, and now it’s …
I’m sure you’re wondering why I ended that last paragraph with a dot-dot-dot instead of the word “February.” Well, that’s because the millisecond February rolled in, my four-year-old mobile germ unit, Pat, started throwing up all over our house. After a couple days of keeping him home from school, my 6-year-old daughter, Mary, also became a human faucet. This was not how we wanted the month of hope to arrive.
The good news is we were able to get them over the norovirus in a few days’ time. Thank goodness! Now, on with the month.
We were thankfully able to have a nice, peaceful Valentine’s Day dinner at home, filled with ribeye steak and lobster. Now we’re talking! Now let’s just get through the next 10 days to Megan’s birthday without the kids getting …
… sick again. Sh#%!! It’s only the 15th and now Pat has a fever. After a couple days at home with him, he couldn’t shake the fever, so we took him to the doctor, and he was diagnosed with a double ear infection. Well at least we knew the problem and had a path forward. So, we got him started on his antibiotic, but a couple days later the he still had a fever. So, I took him back to the doctor and he was diagnosed with influenza A, plus the antibiotic didn’t seem to be working very well on the ear infection. So, with new medication and a couple days later, he is much better! Thank goodness! Now, on with …
… AARRGGHH! Now our six-year-old daughter, Mary, has a high fever. This is getting ridiculous.
Two days passed and Mary still had a fever. Off to the doctor we go again. She was then diagnosed with an ear infection plus she caught that flu. It was a sequel to Pat’s story. Well, at least we once again had a light at the end of the tunnel. Now on with …
… really??? Just as Mary was starting to feel a little better, Megan and I started feeling flu symptoms. It was at least a couple days until we were feeling better. Megan’s actual birthday came and went, but we were mostly better by the weekend after. So, now, finally on to her birthday celebra …
… tion. Stupid dot-dot-dots!! Just as we were about to have a nice dinner, Megan had stabbing ear pains. Yep, you guessed it. Ear infection.
It was quite the February. We did eventually get to celebrate Megan, several days into March. Aside from the residual coughs and the mountain of work that was piled up on our desks (thank God we work at wonderful and understanding jobs), the Rathz family is back in action!
The moral of the story is … (this is my normal closing dot-dot-dot, not another ear infection) Thank the good Lord February is the shortest month. I think next year we’ll go directly from Christmas to St. Paddy’s Day.
Tim Rathz can be reached at 40somethinginfishers@gmail.com. Follow on Facebook or Instagram.