Coughee House

Isn’t weekday school fun?

Almost-three-year-old Taylor not only makes friends and plays games, she also brings things home – things like drawings, posters, songs and…germs.

Yes, yes. I know all of you parents out there are nodding your heads. You know. You’ve been there.

F-u-n.

(Notice my sarcasm. I know you can’t hear it, but it’s there).

So, lately, I’ve been spending most of my time at the coughee house.

And I’m not talking about Starbucks.

Everyone in our house has been coughing. Taylor’s coughing fits came courtesy of her second double ear infection in a month while my mom’s coughs became pneumonia. Yikes! The rest of us managed to eke by with a few random coughs and nothing worse – yet -- knock on wood.

On top of all that, Taylor’s cough accompanied a monstrous runny, goopy, sticky nose that we lovingly referred to as Snotzilla (especially post-sneeze). The most annoying thing about Snotzilla was her tendency to interrupt Taylor’s usually sound sleep. In fact, Taylor didn’t nap for almost a week. That was NOT cool.

Snotzilla had to be stopped!

We fought Snotzilla with copious amounts of vitamin C, steamy rooms, and mountains of tissue. We tried fresh air, rest, and acetaminophen. Nothing scared her away.

Week after week, Snotzilla ruled the coughee house…until we finally brought in the big guns – antibiotics.

And now, almost ten days later, Snotzilla is nowhere in sight and the coughee house is quiet and peaceful once again. Afternoon naps stretch for hours. Outings no longer require a pocketful of tissue.

Life is well.

But I’m still at the coffee house…

Starbucks, that is.