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getting better, slowly
What a week! If I had to title this set of seven days, I’d probably name it something terrible like the “Pilgrimage of Puke” or the “Trail of Tears and Vomit” or “Pukefest 2009.” It’s unfortunate that a lot of good memories from this week are going to be overshadowed this way.
While the other memories will be filed away neatly in the regular standard manila folders, this week will always stand out in the giant file cabinet of my mind as the green one with slime oozing out of it and some kind of spooky jack-in-the box timer that sends out a fountain of projectile vomit whenever you least expect it.
I’m sure that as time passes and the sour stench of stomach acid slowly dissipates, my memories will re-order themselves and I’ll be able to recall the wonderful vacation that we took to see relatives and the beautiful wedding. It really was a nice time. I’m just sad it had to end on such a horrible awful note. Most importantly, I hope that Bug doesn’t associate our time up in Northern California with sickness. If she does, she’ll probably never want to take a road trip ever ever ever again. I know I’m thinking second thoughts. If I have to clean puke out of a car-seat buckle ever again (and I know I will), I think I’m going to fall over and die.
Being sick wasn’t all bad of course. There were the sweet moments when she’d wake up in the night and say, “Hold me, Mommy, ” and we’d both fall asleep with her sleeping on my chest just like she did when she was a baby. There was that one day when we were both so sick of the couch and the television and the soggy towels that we opened the door of the cabin and sat on the floor looking out with the cold air blowing on our faces. We watched the children play in the grass yard across the street and she asked me to carry her over there so she could play too but I knew she didn’t have the strength.
Then there are her eyes, so big and chocolate and solemn. Her sick eyes are beautiful but they make me cry inside. I can’t stand this new silence she has about her. While I love being able to complete a thought without interruption, I miss the chatter. I miss being asked a million times if she can have some chocolate or a puffed rice treat that tastes like a Cheeto but is not. I don’t like this new moodiness.
So anyway, we are home but the sickness is not over yet. She’s been getting better and better every day and I thought for sure we’d get through today without any up-chucking but then she got a little too thirsty and drank her vanilla milk drink a little too fast. As soon as I can, I’m going to make an appointment with her pediatrician. I have a feeling they are just going to say it’s some nasty virus going around and she’ll be fine but I’m the mom and I worry.
I’m just scared that her skinny little body isn’t going to fatten back up again. I’m scared that this new quiet Bug is here to stay. I miss my old Bug.
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The Wedding
The wedding was about five minutes long which was great since I had a little girl sitting next to me in a fancy red dress who could not for the life of her understand why she couldn’t be up there on stage with all the other girls in fancy red dresses. It was a beautiful wedding. Short and sweet just like we like them. Everyone wore red and black and the church was decorated with hearts and flowers. There were even little chocolate kisses on each pew. I’m sure most of those decorations got eaten.
We found Bug’s cute little red taffeta dress while we were up here actually. I had a perfectly suitable hand-me-down Christmas dress from SuperChic all ready for Bug to wear to the wedding but when I spotted this while poking around in the little shops on main street, I had to support the local community and buy it. The woman who owned the store practically gave it to me because she loved Bug so much. I think the whole town knows her already. The maids in our hotel love her so much they leave little surprises for her when they clean our room. I love small towns.
All the little girls dressed up of course, and as you can see Bug was quite enchanted with the velvet on her cousin’s dress. I can’t wait to see the formal portraits that were taken. I have no idea what sort of shenanigans Bug was pulling while we were holding our poses. She was down in front and I was up three steps away. I just hope the photographer caught her when she wasn’t feeling her cousin up. But then again, isn’t that what makes weddings great? My family will never let me live down the petticoat show I put on when I was a two-year-old flower girl in my Aunt’s wedding.
Thankfully, we made it through the ceremony with only a few little exclamations from Bug (which I don’t think anyone but me really noticed) and then it was off to the great big dance-party reception!
Bug was in heaven. A big dance floor, a pretty dress to twirl in, music and all the attention of anyone within sight. She danced the night away.
And so did everybody else.
You’d think from this blog that the wedding was all about Bug. Which it wasn’t of course. Anthony and Triniti are now very happily married and we are so glad we got to be a part of it!
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Ponnay!
p.s. All of the decent photos were taken by George Ponnay III. I was having issues with my flash, as is usual in low light situations.