The countdown has begun; there are now 12 days separating us from that joy of all joys that is Christmas morning. With all the things to be done and all the fun to be had, this is most certainly not the time to be sick. Thankfully all of our shopping is done, because instead of heading out to brave the hopefully crowded stores we are staying in, nursing a pitifully sick little boy. I can count on one hand the number of times that Calvin has been under the weather (runny nose, congestion, etc.) in his life, and can specifically remember the one and only other time he has ever run a fever (back when he was about 9 months old), but this is probably the first time that he has ever been sick in a capital sort of way, and certainly this is the longest he's ever been symptomatic. Luckily the worst seems to be past; he had the 102 plus fever on Friday, accompanied by aches and lethargy, then some light chest congestion and lethargy on Saturday, and today rather serious congestion with painful coughing, but the fever is gone, and some of his energy is back. The hardest bit of this affair has been watching his misery; since he really hasn't been sick before the poor kid doesn't seem to understand what hit him, and I keep comforting him with the reassurance that he will, eventually, get better. Let's just hope that happens before Christmas, and that the other two thirds of us can keep the enemy germs at bay.