1918?

It is a very sad state of affairs when the stomach flu finally catches up with both mommy and daddy at the exact same time. It is even sadder when said flu hits them the morning after their kids spend the night relieving themselves of the last vestiges of the same bug. If I could put the whole house, people included, in the washing machine on hot/heavy duty/extra-rinse cycle, I would; maybe even twice.
Yesterday, as Dave and I spent Valentine's Day lying in bed with our stomachs churning and brows burning, I wondered if the end just might be in sight. Visions of doctors with Gravol-filled syringes danced in my head; could I safely drive myself to the hospital? Moreover, did I have any energy to get dressed in order not to be incarcerated when I arrived? We both stayed put; somehow the kids made it through the day. Amazing how four kids under 6 can make it quite successfully through a day parent-less. Only necessary diapers were changed; bottles were filled and re-filled by the twins who were thrust into a quasi-parental role; two children made it out of pajamas: Joseph, because leaving a baby covered in vomit is really not acceptable, and Hannah, because her over-riding sense of fashion always prevails. And, sadly, it is the TV who wins the parenting award this Valentine's Day.
Apparently it was "Caring and Sharing Day" on Treehouse. Hannah finally saw Strawberry Shortcake and Jacob actually hugged the TV this morning (I am not joking). In the midst of it all, the doorbell rang and H and J ran to answer it. They came rushing to the bedroom with a bag of oranges in hand: "Mommy, Mommy. Someone gave us a bag of oranges but they ran away really fast into their van." Thank you, mystery-orange-giver.
I stayed up the latest last night waiting for my stomach to abate so that I could begin to conquer my headache with some Tylenol. As I lay on the couch, I watched Mother Angelica and her nuns pray the Rosary on EWTN. Somehow this was the only TV-viewing that I could handle. I did discover that nuns' faces are extremely interesting to watch: women completely denuded of makeup and hair. It was interesting to imagine what they looked like before donning the habit. We all eventually made it to bed and the baby slept in extra long this morning. I think that he didn't want to face another day without his parents.
Actually, I am amazed at how well Joseph did yesterday. On a normal day, he is more than assertive in his demands to be lifted up, fed, watered and bedded. However, he seemed to have an understanding that only the most basic of needs could be met yesterday. He spent most of the day walking from our room to check on his parents and then back to the living room to see his sibs. Every once in a while he would come in on his ride-on-toy beeping his horn and shovelling the carpet. At other times he sat on my back as I lay in semi-consciousness.
Anyway, the wash is on, the floor is swept, handles have been wiped with disinfectant and we are on the road to recovery. (Didn't I say that three weeks ago?) This has been the worst stomach flu that I have ever encountered and you should all be very thankful that your primary mode of communication with me requires no bodily contact. Pray for us...
(And, yes, it goes without saying that the baby shower that was planned for our house yesterday afternoon was moved to another home. Despite the change of plans, Hannah kept asking, "When is everybody coming over?" Never, Hannah, never.)