This time line starts on Sunday night. It’s been a good weekend. Got some stuff done online and a the house. Everything is going well, until bedtime. Youngest child (3 almost 4) starts erupting like “Ol’ Faithful”. The good news? We were outside walking the dog so, other than a patch of grass getting an unscheduled dousing, not too bad. Oldest child (10) is staying with her aunt and uncle. She’s out of the mix — we think.

Monday morning — I know that the youngest won’t be going to day care, but there are still the others to get ready for school. I wake up the next oldest first, and on his way to the bathroom he imitates his brothers performance from the night before. Not quite the volume, but more than enough to keep him home for the day. I go to work and stay just over half a day in order to come home and help with crowd control. Oldest girl stays another night with her aunt.

Tuesday morning. I get next to youngest girl up first. She showers, come out in to the family room, and, you guessed it. So I get her brother up (the middle child). Right before he gets to the shower he decides that it’s his turn. Two down. Next to oldest makes it all the way through his shower before showing us that he’s not ready to go back quite yet. However, the youngest is now feeling better. I drop him at day care and I go on to work. To recap, the oldest and youngest are in school, the three in the middle are at home.

This morning. Children 2, 3, 4, and 5 all get ready for school. Oldest girl goes to school from her aunts. Cindy’s daughter, mother to 3 and 4, will not be going to work this morning. She started her bout ’bout 4am. Luckily it was before I got up. I am a sympathetic up-chucker. See it, hear it, smell it . . . do it. So far I’ve avoided this thing. All the younger set is where they’re supposed to be, and I go to work. 10am. Oldest girl, who has also avoided this mess, avoids it no longer. A call from the school clinic and home she comes. Her mom’s not feeling to well either. Still, I, the rock, the impervious one, am going strong. Lunch and weekly conference call go off without a hitch.

And then, around 2:45, it hits me. I didn’t lose it, and I managed to work the entire shift, but something was churning. So far that’s all it’s done, but not all it’s wanted to do. Naturally, all the kids being newly better are bursting with energy. I have none. It’s taken nearly two hours to write this poor excuse for a post.

Any bloggers out there want to throw out a post, let me know at lakelandjim at gmail dot com. I’ll get you set up.

Not much more to say until I feel better. Let’s see how tonight goes.