Sick

Our house was a sick house last week. First Maura and then Jennifer came down with a stomach ailment. Nausea and vomiting were followed by fever and exhaustion. Fortunately it was a fast disease and once the vomiting stopped a good night’s sleep was all that was needed for a complete recovery. When Jennifer was ill there was little I could do but let her sleep and encourage her to take some fluids. Maura had already been sick and I was reasonably sure that Jennifer had the same disease and would recover quickly. It was different when Maura was sick.

No conscientious parent can ever be entirely at ease when their child is ill and as much as I often try to be a hand-off parent, I think I am a conscientious parent. Maura’s illness struck in the middle of the night and I had difficulty sleeping afterwards. Partly it was just that my sleep was disturbed. In my role as cleaner-of-disgusting-messes I had been called to clean up vomit and after the activity I found it difficult to go back to sleep. Worry over Maura’s illness certainly contributed to the restless night. I could not be sure she was not suffering from food poisoning or something else serious.

In the morning a call to the pediatrician allayed my fears. There was a virus going around that caused vomiting and fever but it usually only lasted for twelve to twenty-four hours. Maura was a good patient during the day she was sick. She couldn’t eat anything but she held fluids down and happily drank what I gave her whenever she was awake. She spent the day on the couch in the living room and napped for most of it. By evening she was starting to feel better but she was still running a fever.

The fever meant that Maura was home a second day. Because of the flu the school has a rule that any child who has had a fever of one hundred degrees or more in the last twenty-four hours should stay home from school. It’s a good rule and I’m sure it keeps some parents from sending children to school who shouldn’t be there but sometimes it means the kids are home when they are no longer sick. Maura was one of those children. Since I didn’t think I should have her out during school hours we were trapped at home all day and a well-rested healthy Maura who is trapped at home is bored. A bored Maura is far more trouble than a sick Maura.

Cornell Glee Club at Old South Church

Last Friday we had a family celebration of my wife Jennifer’s fortieth birthday. We had dinner at our favorite Chinese restaurant in Boston’s China Town and then attended a concert by the Cornell University Glee Club at Old South Church. Jennifer and I are both alumnae of Cornell and Jennifer is a big fan of a capella music so when I received a notice in my email from the alumnae association about the upcoming concert I asked her if she would like to go. The ticket prices were affordable, the concert was close to her actual birthday and on a night I would have off.

The concert was not quite what I had expected though I was in no way disappointed. I had expected to hear jazz and popular pieces, along with the Cornell songs Jennifer and I remembered from our time on campus. The Cornell songs were covered but most of the repertoire was a mix of sacred music and secular classical pieces ranging in style from Latin hymns to choral settings of Negro spirituals. Everything was beautifully sung and performed in a gorgeous space. The concert closed with the familiar sounds of the “Evening Song” and “Alma Mater” well known to every student and graduate. The “Evening Song”, its tune otherwise known as “O Tannenbaum”, brings back fond memories of my time as a student when the sound of it echoing from the bell tower carillon marked the end of every day.

Everyone enjoyed the concert. Maura, like her mother, is a fan of choral music. The varied style of the pieces kept Maura’s attention and she was very well behaved. I would not have expected otherwise. It is a pleasure introducing Maura to the arts because she takes an interest in what we expose her to. Whether it is classical music or modern art she approaches everything with curiosity and an open mind. She sets a good example of for the rest of us. While Maura doesn’t enjoy everything new she hears or sees she does not prejudge. She lets her new experiences determine her attitude, not her expectations.