Catching a Parasite

Today was just another day in the neighborhood.  I tried to clean- useless.  Tried to be a parent- difficult.  Tried to relax- ridiculous.  Yep, just another day in the neighborhood.

Well, if you don't count the head cold that decided to move into my body for a while.

Ya know, its funny how we take precautions- sometimes over precautions- to keep from getting sick; to keep from catching a “bug”. We take vitamin C, drink lots of fluids, eat chicken soup... they've even come up with sayings like, “Starve a fever, feed a cold”, in an effort to drive home how to get rid of the sickness. People say things like, “Get well soon” and “Hope you're back to your old self again soon”, because that's what we do- we say things to try and make the person feel better.

Its funny because, if you REALLY think about it, kids are parasites. Only, to make matters worse, instead of taking precautions to keep away, some people go through great lengths to obtain one.  At the risk of driving people away from ever reading my thoughts again, just go with me on this one.

I'll take myself, for example. When I got pregnant with my first son, I was young and Corey and I weren't married yet. A lot of people chose to congratulate us on the upcoming birth of our baby boy. I think its kind of funny, though, that one particular family member of mine sent us a card that said “Get well soon”. Now, given, I think she was a little out of sorts, but maybe it was my fiance and I who were not right in the head to be as excited as we were. Maybe she knew what we were up against?

Flash forward 6 years. Corey and I were now married and trying to get pregnant with our second child. Instead of heeding the unintended advice of my family member, I was actively trying to get as close to my pregnant friends as possible- as if I could “catch” a baby.

We now have 3 boys, and as much as I love them, I can't help but smile when I hear things like this on TV:

(From the show 'House')Dr. House: "Don't worry. Many women learn to embrace this parasite. They name it, dress it up in tiny clothes, arrange playdates with other parasites..."

So true, Dr. So very true. Or, my latest favorite, which I saw last night on Grey's Anatomy, spoken by Cristina Yang: “Its small features and oversized thighs trigger a hormonal response from humans. It's autonomic. It's what keeps us from eating them.”

I couldn't have said it better myself.