The Reset Button

There's been a lot of sickness as of late around our house. I've had an ear infection, the Pickle spent all of Sunday throwing up, the Land Baron is worn out from lots of late, long hours at the hospital and Pepper is plagued by some unaccounted for malaise. Everyone seems to be heading towards health again, except the Pepper. She has spent the last several days just sort of moan-y, a little feverish, cranky and weepy at the drop of a hat. Today was a particularly bad day for her. The final straw was apparently when I chose the wrong color socks to put on her little chilly toes. She wept from the depths of her heart as if I truly had broken it by suggesting the contrasting color of cotton.

So we needed to reset. Cut to: small children piled into the car, wind whipping around us, pulling out of the driveway under cover of darkness (at 5p.m. - but it seemed much later). Fifteen minutes later, pulling through the parking lot of our friend Wendy, nary a tear or a moan. It was, instead, replaced by the sound of contented children munching on the deliciously decadent french fries and Mr. Pibb for dinner. Add to that a few extra minutes on the road driving through neighborhoods looking at holiday lights and suddenly the world seemed a little more bearable for a two year old overwhelmed with the prospect of getting through even one more minute with her sanity in tact.

We returned and were able to manage bath and the bedtime routine without a single meltdown. Sometimes Christmas miracles really do happen in real life.