Get me a bucket!

...Finally, we are all healthy...no puke in over a week, eyes are bright and clear even coughs and sniffles have subsided. Phew! I don't think I can take anymore...not after my extra special valentine from Lofa, puke all over me...

That was Sunday's thought as we were driving home from a weekend home. What a great weekend, there was fun and food, family and laughs. We were even lucky enough to have two Grannies to babysit! Ace and I even got a chance to unwind.
Then Monday morning the phone rang. Mom calling to say she is sick...really sick, with a bug that sounds strangely familiar...oh sh*t I think, Lofa and I just had that. Ace dodged it then. Could 'guts of steel' pull it off again? I got my answer when he got home. A very clear 'NO!'

Graciously, I gave up the bed to Ace so he could have some 'alone' time. This confused Lou, who won't go upstairs until everyone else has. Every once in a while he would come up and nudge me to see if we were going up to bed. He must have given up, because, I woke to his nose on my side and his paws around me in a hug. This is a cute image, until you learn that he is a 120lb black lab. We are the same size! (give or take a pound or two *wink*).

I seem to learn more about my family when we are sick. Somehow we all know what to do, and act accordingly. Lofa seems to sense that there is something wrong with Dada. He even seems to play quieter, and go to bed without incident. I realize that I have to pull up and do the things that Ace would normally do, (conveniently this was the night the garbage and recycling had to be sorted and brought to the curb.) but I did it all without a second thought. Even the dog seemed to respect the fact that one of our own was ill. Once he finally got to go upstairs, he slept on the floor right by Ace's side. It's amazing how we don't practice this behaviour, there are no virus drills, it's just the way it goes family has a powerful connection to our instincts. When one of us is down, we join together to help them through it!