It was a wild week. Well, it was a wild week by my middle-age family-man standards, at least. The big news is that my company was purchased by a different company, a much larger company, one you've surely heard of, and so I guess I work for them now. It came totally out of the blue to me, but I think it's going to be a good thing. These types of acquisitions can definitely create some consternation, but we're being told all the right things: no job losses or pay cuts or relocations, etc. Of course things could always change for the worse, but they could change for the worse if we didn't get acquired too. Unless you work for yourself, you're always reliant on somebody above you, and if you do work for yourself, you only shift the reliance to your customers, which might not be any better. The only sure way to be set financially is to already have money, and even then you could develop a sports betting addiction and gamble it all away on failed Super Bowl props.* There is no such thing as a sure thing.
*I've only bet on the Super Bowl a few times and never for serious money. Back in 1992, I did a prop pool at a Super Bowl party at my parents' friends' house. Everybody put in a few dollars and picked their favorite props using a fake budget, and then the people with the most fake money at the end, won the real money. I got the top prize, because I hit on Earnest Byner to score the first touchdown at relatively long odds. That's probably my greatest betting moment ever.
The other big thing that happened this week is S left town for a work trip, and Lil' S2 got the flu. It was pretty brutal. He was full-on sick -- like, not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to eat anything, coughing and wheezing and puking sick. The fact that I was single-daddying it was trying in ways but, if I'm being totally honestly, easier in other ways than it would have been if S was here. One thing I've noticed about parenting is that a large percentage of it is done for the benefit of your partner more so than your child. I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing -- it's just a thing. For example, I sometimes make Lil' S2 take his jacket to school, even when he doesn't want to, and I don't think he needs it, because I know when S picks him up, the thought of him being outside in 50-degree weather without a jacket will cause her consternation. The jacket is for her, not for him.
There are so many things like this, and I'm sure it goes both ways, so I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that when S travels for work, these for-your-spouse parenting obligations lessen a bit, and I don't mind that. When Lil' S2 woke me up at 2 am Tuesday morning because he threw up all over his bed, I didn't have to worry about what towels to use to clean it up or where to move him or anything like that. I just did what I thought was best/easiest in the moment, and I had the entire situation handled lickety-split, Winston Wolf style.*
*Thankfully, our upstairs is all hardwood floors, not carpet, so I didn't have a repeat of last post's clean-up job.
And then when I got back in bed, I didn't have to feel S's mama-bear anxiety emanating off of her. I could just go back to sleep immediately, which was actually the best thing for Lil' S2 -- it's much harder to care for a sick kid when you're exhausted.* S's concern was strong enough over text. I took him to the doctor Tuesday afternoon basically just to put her mind at ease. I'm not anti-doctor, by any means, but I rarely go for this type of sickness, because there's nothing they can really do. They diagnose you and then tell you to do the exact things that you were going to do anyway -- stay hydrated, rest, and take some Tylenol if you're running a fever. Those are the only three things you really need to do, and, lo and behold, they are exactly what the doctor said Lil' S2 should do.
*I turned off my morning alarm Sunday night because neither of the kids were going to school on Monday (Lil' S1 had a random day off), and then I forgot to set it again. I woke up at 8:25 am on Tuesday in a panic, because I had to get Lil' S1 across town to school in five minutes. Then I realized he had already gotten up, gotten ready, and taken the Metro to school. It was very cool and relieving. In many ways, he's mature beyond his years; in others, he's still very much a little kid.
But, I mean, it's fine that I took him. It was "only" three hours out of my life, and putting S's mind to ease is a kind thing to do. Plus, it was nice to rule out strep throat. I was pretty sure that wasn't it, because he wasn't complaining specifically about his throat, but it has been going around the neighborhood. Also, I got a doctor's note for school. They're sticklers at DCPS about excused absences. I'm like, How about it's excused because I'm his parent and I say it's excused?! But actually truancy is a big problem, so it's probably good that they take it seriously.
One amazing thing is that somehow neither Lil' S1 nor I got sick. (At least, we haven't yet, knock on wood.) This is literally the only time I can remember one of my kids getting sick enough to miss school and not passing it on to me or the other kid. I guess getting those flu shots a few months ago was a good thing. I mean, we all got them, including Lil' S2, but they aren't 100% effective. In our small sample, they were only 67% effective. Still, I'll take that over a household-wide pandemic any day.
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment