Taking a sick day...or two

Saturday I took Katy to the doctor and found out she was indeed sick - croup (and a 3 day round of prednisone - one of my least favorite meds). It didn't seem any better by Monday, so Tuesday I took her back to the dr. They put her on antibiotics for a sinus infection. I didn't feel this was really her problem, but the antibiotic seems to have worked. She's doing much better. Today seems to be her "crash" from the prednisone. Phil reminded me (when I called for back up support) that it is usually within a few days of coming off of prednisone that I crash. That happened this afternoon for her.

Yesterday, I was quite sick with a sore throat, cough, and very little voice. Katy and I had barely slept the night before because she was coughing so much. I ended up in the recliner with her trying to get her settled until 2 or 3 am. Then, I brought her back to her bed on the floor in our room only to have both Katy and Phil snoring. UGH!! I seriously considered moving to sleep in Katy's bed, but didn't even have the energy to move. We spent most of our day chilling. About 10:30, I got a call from school saying that Lilly was not feeling well and had a fever.... could I please come pick her up. Off we went...making sure to stop at Family Video on the way back home to pick up some free videos. (Thanks to Christy for the info on free kid movie rentals.) I figured this would help keep them busy. By 1 pm, Lilly was begging Katy to be quiet and settle down so she could take a nap (a big sign that Lilly seriously didn't feel well!) Lilly is home again today because she had a fever again this morning. Her fever was 102 yesterday, and broke sometime during the night, but when Phil checked it this morning, she had a fever again. She's supposedly asleep on the futon now. Katy's asleep (I think) on Lilly's floor. I'm sitting on my bed with the wind whipping around the house. The sun is shining now, but we are supposed to get severe weather later.

I can't say there is a whole lot to report on. We still desperately miss Stripey. It is so hard to come home and not have her here. It's way to quiet, way to lonely, and really hard. She's been with me for 16 yrs. She managed to put up with my mom for about half of those years (they have such a love/hate relationship!), and then has learned to deal with Phil (who she actually liked when he was in the mood to pet her) and then 2 kids (who she preferred to protect from other children...funny thing since she didn't like kids!) I found myself talking to her the other night as I closed the blinds to the back patio. I was telling her it was ok...she could stay put; I was just closing the blinds. It made me almost cry when I realized I was really only talking to myself because she wasn't there.

There are a few benefits like not having to clean a stinky litter box (which I would give anything to do just to have her back), the house stays cleaner, I don't have to clean up cat poop or puke, and I actually get the bathroom to myself once in awhile, but all those things don't really matter. I'd much rather have her. The girls have been talking about another kitten. Lilly asked me 2 hours after we told her Stripey was gone and I almost punched her. I was still lying on the bed bawling. I'm not ready for another cat...I'd love to hold one and snuggle it, but Stripey was such a well-behaved cat, I dread having to train a new one. (Obediful as Katy put it when she finally realized Stripey wasn't coming home.) I have no idea how long I will last without a pet. I thought about pleasing Katy and getting fish, but I can't handle death right now. I almost rented Bambi for the girls to watch, and then realized I wouldn't be able to handle the death, and they probably couldn't either.

I think I'll quit so I can rest for a bit while the girls are down. It's just nice to have a chance to stop and collect my thoughts here for a few minutes.