songs and spirits

we were cooped up in the house for three days.  three. whole. days.  we haven't been stuck indoors for this long since my sons were less than two years old, when i wasn't yet willing to take them anywhere by myself.

my kids were singing the tune of a bad cold, or was it a mild flu?  i'm not sure which.  they've been vaccinated with both the seasonal and H1N1 nasal mists, though i have read and been told that they're still not completely immune, which just plain sucks.  nonetheless, the house carried the hum of low-grade fevers, melodies of sniffles, and moreso, choruses of forceful, uncontrollable coughs.

to add to the misery, it was nothing but cold, wet, and dreary outide.  we couldn't open the windows or step out for the fresh air and natural light that we all so desperately needed. 

but through it all, my sons were troopers.  not one complaint from any of them - no whining, no crying.  they willingly took their medication, set themselves on the sofa whenever they felt weary, and played without care when they felt the slightest bit of energy.

it always amazes me how their spirits keep each other lifted, no matter the weather or the storm.  and it is their spirits that have kept me going through all of these sleepless nights and all of the symptoms that i am now singing myself.

caption:  elijah covering his cough; jonah napping on a fever; noah playing as he improves