And like dominoes they fell . . .

As of last Monday, you may recall Ian's tale of woe with the "ick". Now, I will admit since he was already five days into his illness, I was prayerful that rest of us had some sort of super immunity. Unfortunately. . .

. . .my hopes were dashed when Rich returned from a business trip on Wednesday complaining of similar symptomatology. Of course, adults with the "ick" are a little less needy than young ones and, since Ian was on the mend and Kyra was as chipper as ever, I figured 50% of the household wasn't bad. Until . . .

. . .the cry in the dark somewhere between Wednesday and Thursday morning. Yes, the princess was confirmed sick with the ick. Alright, well it could be worse: one on the mend and going back to school, a responsible adult though ailing but capable of caring for a pathetic princess and a germ-free office for me to escape to. Surely I could outrun the bug. But . . .

. . .there was no escape to be had. By Thursday evening, I knew what fate had in store for me. Yes, by Friday morning, Kyra and I cuddled up on the couch watching endless princess movies. By Saturday, Rich and Ian were doing well enough to escape the sick girls. I took the opportunity to nap when Kyra napped. Now . . .

. . .one may think that this tale of woe is over. But sadly, no, we shall not forget our beloved four-legged friend, Mel. You see, while I napped on Saturday, Ms. Mel climbed up one of the dining room chairs and helped herself to an entire tray of Hartman's cookies (and for those of you who KNOW about said cookies, I heard that gasp!) I'd like to think that it was only because they were cat-shaped and purchased to support a local cat rescue that she ate them out of spite, but it just goes to prove that no one can resist their powers! Now, having consumed enough cookies to equal at least the volume of two-days worth of her chow, you would think the "darling" would have stopped there. Oh no! Not my little slink! She also helped herself to an entire box of graham cracker bugs! Needless to say, I was none too pleased when I woke up from my nap and discovered the "evidence" (or, shall we say, lack thereof) of Mel's handywork. So, that night as we were getting to bed, Mel assumed her usual spot between us. All of a sudden we started hearing very strange sounds coming from our precocious pooch . . .

. . . and, yes, by Sunday morning, even the dog was sick!

Of course, now we are all on the mend and slowly but surely on the path back to "normal." At least we can one day look back at this and laugh.

Stay healthy, my friends! (and keep those cookies high!)