Comments on: A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out But You Can Lie Around Listlessly With

By: Pop

Pop — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 22:41:46 +0000

I’m not sure when we stopped checking on our two sons. There’s a strong memory that lives in my head of innumerable nights going into the darkened. night-light-lit bedroom and listening for the breathing and/or lightly placing a hand on the torso–or even stooping down to see if the low light level allowed a visual check on movement caused by movement. Kids come down with illnesses quickly; fortunately they heal (generally) equally quickly.

By: Paul O'Brian

Paul O'Brian — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:34:41 +0000

Oh boy am I familiar with that one. The “death in sleep” fear is like a gutter running alongside the bowling alley of my normal thought process. And my thoughts aren’t very good bowlers, so they slip in there on a very regular basis.

Okay, this metaphor is coming out odder than it sounded in my head.

My point is that I am struck by that fear about Dante several times a week at least. I’ve even begun having it about Laura. I don’t know whether it’s the fear of SIDS irrationally extended beyond infancy, or Star Foster’s recent death, or just having watched a Buffy episode with a sudden death in it, or what (probably a combination of all of these plus 69,105 other factors) but the fear is at a higher pitch than usual these days.

By: Limax

Limax — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 15:19:42 +0000

Man, I feel for you. I don’t know how many times I’ve had that feeling, and my kids are almost 6 and 8 now. I still find myself checking on them a lot when they’re not feeling well.

By: Misty

Misty — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:36:49 +0000

If it’s anything like what Eli had, he’ll be fine in the morning.

By: duchess

duchess — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 02:22:32 +0000

And of course, as soon as I read this, I thought, hm. And sure enough, A has a fever of 101.

By: Stephen

Stephen — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:09:12 +0000

Oh, goodness, yes. Every time Eli slept a little longer I would be convinced that he had died in the night.

By: katre

katre — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 22:07:03 +0000

Whenever A sleeps in (and by “sleeps in” I mean “doesn’t wake up at 6:30″), F and I are always a little nervous. What if he’s dead? He’d be quiet like this. Then he hears us whispering and wakes up and starts screaming and things are okay again.