The Christmas That Went Hilariously Wrong: A Tale of Family Flu and Festive Fumbles

  1. To kick off the holiday season, I made sure my son was absolutely thrilled about our trip from the snowy slopes of Colorado to the sun-soaked beaches of California. It was Christmas Eve, and we were heading to visit his grandparents with his dad, baby sister, and all the holiday cheer we could muster!
  2. However, on the plane, I couldn’t help but notice my son looking a bit downcast. I thought to myself, “Maybe canceling that flu shot appointment a few weeks back wasn’t the best idea.” But I quickly brushed it off with a reassuring, “He’ll be fine!”
  3. Upon our arrival, Christmas Eve festivities began! The kids played on the beach, and my son whipped up some Christmas cookies with his Nana. He probably licked his fingers and touched everything in sight—which, spoiler alert, becomes crucial later. Presents were opened, I indulged in some eggnog, and we tucked the little ones in bed before playing Santa.
  4. But then, in the middle of the night, I woke up to a chorus of retching. Both my son and husband had come down with something terrible. I was up all night, worried and changing sheets, while administering ibuprofen like it was candy. Luckily, the baby and I had received our flu shots, so we were somewhat protected.
  5. Christmas Day arrived, and the one little guy who should have been excited about Santa was too sick to care. Nana and Granddad started the day off alright, but soon enough, they succumbed to the same fate. Text messages revealed that my aunt and uncle, who visited the day before, were also feeling under the weather. My son had successfully infected at least five people, and as I watched the news report on California’s flu outbreak, I started to panic that he might be the source. The baby and I were left alone while everyone else lay in miserable heaps around the house. It felt like a germ-filled prison, so naturally, I began to clean.
  6. At first, my cleaning was innocent, but it quickly spiraled into an obsession. I scrubbed surfaces with bleach, making buckets of chicken soup to nourish my babies. It felt like we were living in a petri dish, with nowhere to go and no one to help us—the last two standing in a flu battleground.
  7. On day three, my sister called from Minnesota, cheerfully informing me that they wouldn’t be able to make it this year. She quickly hung up, probably fearing the flu germs would leap through the phone lines.
  8. Days passed, and the flu hit hard. It was all soup, crackers, forehead checks, and laundry for me. I was all alone in this flu fiasco. IT. WAS. ALL. ME.
  9. Slowly, my family started to emerge from their sick beds. My son, however, continued to run high fevers, so I took him to urgent care that Saturday. After hours of waiting, we learned he had a ruptured eardrum and was prescribed antibiotics.
  10. Then came my mom, who developed an awful cough that kept her up all night. I took her to urgent care on Sunday, where it turned out she had bronchitis and was also put on antibiotics.
  11. But wait! My son had a reaction to the antibiotics, resulting in him vomiting, and his skin became raw and red from the aftermath. I placed him in the shower, only to be alarmed at how skinny he looked. Back to urgent care we went.
  12. At urgent care, a nurse informed me that I’d need to help hold my son down while they administered a painful antibiotic shot. He cried so hard that he ended up with a bloody nose. It was the saddest thing I’d ever witnessed, and I think I might have promised him a pony in that moment.
  13. Finally, after ten long days (with only three days left of vacation), my son started eating again! We took him to the zoo and the park, and he finally got to see some palm trees—what a treat!
  14. When he returned to kindergarten, he had to write about his Christmas vacation. His story? “This Christmas I got sick and I had to get a needle in my butt. It was this big———. And I had a lady lay on me.”

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If you’re curious about navigating the ups and downs of family life, or want to explore topics like home insemination, check out our other blog posts. You can find excellent resources on pregnancy and home insemination at the CDC.

In summary, sometimes the holidays don’t go as planned, and that’s okay! It’s all part of the wild ride that is parenthood.

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