The Christmas that Flu By


Merry Christmas! Tis the season for traditions - hanging decorations, baking cookies, attending Christmas Eve mass, a delicious seafood dinner for Christmas Eve......and the holiday illness. We are not sure why it is that for the third year in a row, there seems to be some sort of illness thrust upon us during the holiday season (the season being Thanksgiving - Christmas). This year was no exception.

It was a very nice Christmas prior to the flu descending on the house. We enjoyed Christmas Eve Mass followed by a delicious dinner. Anna is much more into Santa this year and we left cookies for Santa. Anna woke up Christmas morning and asked for her usual glass of milk. When she saw the presents under the tree, she began looking for one and exclaimed "Rosie the train is not here. Santa said he would leave it under the tree." Mom located a package that contained Rosie the Train and Anna was happy as could be. She went off carrying her Rosie to watch some cartoons and was perfectly content -- unphased by the other presents.

Opening Christmas presents with Anna is an all-day affair. Whatever she opens, she is happy to play with and does not need to open another present. We did not finish Christmas gifts under the tree until 1 PM. We never made it to the stockings until 7 PM (It should be noted that the majority of Anna's presents came from Grandma & Grandpa). The other popular gift was a pair of roller skates, which she has been practicing with in the kitchen. She also conned her parents into putting on roller blades to skate around the kitchen. The last couple of days have been a roller derby in the kitchen.

The plan for the rest of the holiday was to depart for New York December 26 and go to Ohio New Year's weekend to visit family. We awoke early the day after Christmas and packed the car. Anna had a bad cold the previous week and really has not been her usual energetic self. Joe also had a cold. Joe and Theresa were debating whether she really was feeling bad or just tired, when Anna announced that she did not feel good and proceeded to vomit all over the floor. That made the decision and unfortunately the trip was canceled. She seemed to be feeling better Saturday night, so deparate to get out of the house, we hopped in the car and headed to Bull Run park to see the holiday light display. When we arrived, we were told it was canceled for the next couple of days due to flooding. Some days you really should just stay in bed.


Anna is still sick today. So much for the flu shot. Hopefully things will be looking up soon. For our New York family - we missed seeing you but I am sure you are not going to miss our germs. We look forward to being flu free soon. In the meantime, we need to head to the grocery store to secure some more gatorade.

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