going for the grin

Thursday February 10th

Well, we thought the sickness was over, but no- Cadao had a relapse on Monday and again missed school; I’ve been mobile but had no energy or appetite; and Alyra got it on Monday too- luckily, in her case, it only lasted 24-ish hours. Cadao complained of his stomach hurting again before bed tonight, and I’m really really hoping it’s just because he also has had no appetite and his stomach just feels weird because it’s been empty. Ugh!

Alyra’s been smiling more, and is most likely to if we sing, in tribute to Harry Belafonte, "Alyra, Alyra, Alyra, She take me money and run Venzuela." She also likes mourning dove calls and trumpet noises. We do not question her preferences and make fools of ourselves to see the grin.

Cadao is diligently making valentines and is looking forward to adding ribbon-bracelets to the hearts he’s already cut out and decorated. His friends may find his color choices unusual, but they may not notice. He made a, let us say, less-than-attractive-in-the-conventional-sense bracelet from a pipe cleaner and orange paper to decorate a birthday present for one classmate, and when Dan saw the kid the following week at preschool, he was told, "The bracelet doesn’t fit!" Dan let him know that it was ADJUSTABLE, while silently snickering, knowing that the bracelet not FITTING was the least of its problems-