Written 10/8/10

We are on day five of this strange flu bug that Noah has.  So far today there has been no tossing of the cookies, though I fear by the time I finish writing this entry there will be.   Other than the projectile vomit on Sunday night he has only thrown up one time per day. An improvement but I would really like to put a zero on the Vomit Today chart.  Today he wants to eat, does not want to nap and at the moment is stalking the cat with a mouth full of bananas.

Not that I have had much, well any, experience taking care of a sick child but I have to think that this last week could have been a lot worse.  I think I was more thrown off by the lack of a schedule more than anything else. This is because Noah has been a real trouper. Save for a few instances he has never lost his smile.  He would vomit and go right back to playing. If that were me, I would not be moving off the couch.  I can learn a lot from his ever-present smile, curiosity and determination.  The innocence in his actions makes me want to become a better person. He has no ulterior motives and no plans of grandeur.  He just likes to close the door because it makes a banging sound.  A few weeks ago he spent a great deal of time examining the step stool. As he was pushing it around and turning it over, you could see his little mind taking it all in.  He stops to see the wonderment in the world while we glance at it and let it pass us by.  Even when he was not feeling well he took the time to examine, with great interest, a cardboard poster tube.  Give him a couple of spoons to bang on the table and he is immersed in making “music”.  In a world that is so plugged in and turned on, it is a wonder that we do not look at our children with utter confusion because we have forgotten what it is like to enjoy the simple things in life.

I know all of this will change, the innocence will slowly chip away and the understanding of the outside world will begin to make its way in.  Before that happens though, before he is begging us for latest multimedia gadget, before he is only talking to us via text message, I hope that we can learn from him about taking time to play and see the wonderment in the world and in learning from him I hope we can in turn teach him that the simple things in life are worth exploring.