Best of Women

Lin

Amalia was such a good baby. She really only fussed when she was hungry, wet, or needed a good cuddle. It was still exhausting though. Usually she got up two or three times in the night. Unfortunately Pippa was the one mostly dealing with it. I slept like a baby and didn't always wake up when Amalia cried.

Today, though, I was home all day with Amalia. We would get some cuddle time in. We spent the morning laying on the couch as she slept on my chest. There weren't many feelings better than having your baby sleep on your chest. She was this helpless creature, completely vulnerable to the world. She relied on me and Pippa completely. I loved her with all my heart.

Around 2:00, I got a phone call from Hunter. It was the nurse. Though Eva wanted to believe she could push through this, she was being her normal stubborn self. Apparently she'd fallen asleep twice in English. She'd been sent to the nurse by her teacher and the nurse was trying to convince her to go home.

"She's such a hard head," I sympathized with the nurse. "Can you put her on the phone?"

The phone transferred hands and I heard my daughter's exhausted voice. "Hi Dad."

"How are you feeling, kiddo?" I asked her gently.

"I'm fine," she insisted. "I just need a little nap."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," she said. "I need to get back to class."

"Well, the nurse seems to think you should come home. She knows you have mono."

"Good news travels fast," she quipped.

"Sweetheart, I know you don't like backing off, but I think it's a good idea if you came home," I said. "Killing yourself at school isn't gonna help you."

"Why is everyone overreacting?" she sounded irritated. I wasn't the type of parent who wanted to tell my kids 'That's what I said, or else'. I wanted to listen to her.

"Why do you think I'm overreacting?" I asked, my voice level.

"Because it's just being tired," she said. "So what? Everyone's tired. I'm not a slacker."

"Having mono isn't just being tired," I tried to reason with her. "It's a virus. And it wreaks havoc on your body. You push your body hard anyway."

"Uh-huh," she said dismissively, obviously wanting this conversation to be done.

"What's the best that could happen this afternoon, hmm?" I posed. "If you stay at school, you might drift off again. You won't be able to pay attention. If you come home, you can get a nap, do some homework, take a break, and then pick it back up. The school won't penalize you for missing during mono."

"They won't?" she asked.

"Nope," I told her. "It's a special exception. You could even do a half day if you wanted. I talked to the principal."

She was quiet and I could tell she was thinking. Finally, she sighed. "Fine," she relented. "I'll come home."

"Good," I said as Amalia cooed. "Amalia thinks you should come home too."

I heard her giggle a little bit. "Do you want me to send you a cab or are you okay to get on the subway?"

"I'll get on the subway," she told me.

"Okay. See you soon," I told her. "Be safe."

I hung up and Amalia was squirming on my chest. I propped her up to a sitting position and she looked at me, grunting her little baby sounds. She made me smile.