Rejoining Civilization

We all had it.  Me, Russell, my mom, my dad, Emma.  All of us.  The nasty, debilitating, energy-sucking, ice-pick-on-your-temples-headache-inducing, good-thing-we-have-more-than-one-bathroom stomach flu.  Not THE flu. Oh, no.  This is an evil creation of the devil for which there is no vaccine.  And apparently no one is safe.  It's going around.

My mom and dad, wise in their years (read: 60+), even said it's one of the worst they've EVER had.  Luckily for me and Russell, the absolute worst of it started almost immediately when Emma was asleep last Wednesday night.  I do not believe that God sends these things to torture us, but I do believe His presence is there - proven by the fact that there is absolutely no way that I or Russell could have changed some of these horrendous diapers while we ourselves were sick as dogs.  All said and done, it pretty much takes you out of commission for a full five days.  If Montezuma's revenge is something you contract in Mexico, this must be Sitting Bull's revenge, taken out on American civilization.  Enough with the illness now - the only things left to discuss are the gory details.  Oh, actually, I will say that Emma has been an absolute charm during the whole thing.  Again, what a blessing in the midst of a storm.

Emma's speech is really taking off.  Well, taking off for her, still really delayed for her age.  This morning Russell got her out of her crib.  When I walked in, the first thing she said to me was, "No!"  I leaned in and she pointed to my nose.  Then she pointed to my teeth - "Teeth!"  "Eye!"  Maybe she'll be a doctor...the first thing she wants to do in the morning is discuss anatomy.  I should mention this to Dr. Troup; perhaps he could get her on a fast track to med school!  We see him on Thursday to follow up on Emma's MRI.  I'm not all that scared about this appointment because nothing's actually going to happen on Thursday...and if he had seen something that required immediate attention, we would already know it.  I know that he won't recommend anything until at least April, so I feel like I can relax for a little while.  Or maybe I shouldn't...isn't that when Hurricane Bad-Things-Happen-When-You're-Not-Looking usually hits?