A Berry Good Day

Last night, we put Sophia to bed early. She was a sick poochie. That afternoon at the playground, when she kept saying, "Mommy, I want to go home," I had suspected typical 2-year-old contrariness. But that night at dinner, she didn't eat much, and the rims of her eyelids were all red and sleepy. And then Stephen noticed she felt pretty hot. Unfortunately the battery in our baby thermometer was dead and, according to the product info sheet, was the non-replaceable type. I used our adult thermometer to take a reading under her armpit, which isn't very accurate, but it showed a fever of 100. So, after we got her settled into bed, I ran out to CVS and bought a new one. Since she was asleep when I got home, I decided not to wake her.

Around 9:00pm, Sophia woke up crying. We found her lying there—very, very flushed and hot and acting pretty loopy. Her temperature was 105.1. I immediately gave her a dose of children's Motrin and left a message for the nurse on call. Twenty minutes later, the nurse called back and told me that we'd need to take Sophia to the emergency room if her temperature stayed at 105 because they worry about bacterial infections at that point. So, we were quite relieved when the thermometer read 104.3 (I never thought I'd be happy to see such a high fever). Visiting UM Emergency at that hour would have meant we'd have been there most of the night. A horribly exhausting proposition. Around 11:00pm, Sophia (and Mommy and Daddy) finally fell asleep.

This morning, Sophia seemed a little better and her fever was much less scary. We took it easy: she watched a Dora DVD; snacked on dry cereal and sipped water on the couch (we don't normally let her eat in the living room, so she was quite excited about it); and took TWO 2-hour naps. She NEVER naps twice in one day. Lately it's been a challenge to squeeze even one out of her. So, she must have been feeling pretty crappy.

By the end of the day, Sophia was still tired but less feverish. Since we hadn't yet had a chance to enjoy the day's beautiful, not-too-hot weather, we ventured outside. Stephen, Sophia, Pinky Bear, and I took a walk to nearby Fritz Park so she could swing for a while. As we headed down the wooded path to the playground, something caught my eye. Small, black and red dots of color dappled the bushes. As we got closer, we realized they were black raspberries. Hundreds of them. Many, many ripe ones. Delicious. Our impromptu outing on an otherwise solemn day had turned into an unexpected, lovely feast.

As I write this post, Sophia, with a belly full of goodness, is sleeping soundly in her bed. In spite of today's sickness, our evening adventure has left me with the feeling of carefree, childhood summers. Magic and purity and happiness. This morning I hadn't thought I'd say it, but thank you for this day.