Hello! Remember my oft-repeated longing for the return of the school year, when I would have long-ish blocks of time to write here and write there, write, write everywhere?

Me, too.

No one seems to have told my children, who have been sick two-by-two (trading partners every couple of days for variety) for over three weeks now. We’ve already been hit with a stomach thing, a cold thing, a different cold thing, and now one has croup, while the one with the respiratory weakness is one day 4900 of the kind of hacking cough that (a) occurs every 2.5 minutes and (b) sounds what I imagine a consumption ward sounded like.

In other words, there has been no sleep in three weeks for them or for me. There has been no time when children haven’t been home, either feverish and needing me or stir-crazy and swinging from the rafters (while coughing.) I’ve tried writing while they watch a soothing episode of Jake and the Neverland Pirates, but it’s hard.

Please be patient, as I try to be patient with myself. I’m frustrated, no matter how much I love the fact that just my sitting on the same couch or bed seems to make them feel a little better.

But three weeks of heavy coughs 24-7? Not the best soundtrack for work.

I am tired, but I’m here, and I’ll be more here soon.

In the meantime, pass the Ny-Quil. (What did you expect? There have been children expectorating in my general direction for almost a month.)