Ahhhh, The Humanity... (Alternately Titled: The Things We Do For Our Children)

Warning: If you are squeamish, you might just want to skip this post.

The Stage: A beautiful spring-like Saturday. We had no where to go, no where to be, just to be at home preparing for a big night for Matt. Saturday night was the Cub Scout Crossover Ceremony. He was moving from Cub Scout to Boy Scout and our troop really makes a big deal about it. We have a sit-down dinner, an awards ceremony, and then the "crossing over". It is a very sweet time.

The Events Leading Up To The Scene:
1) I left a comment Saturday morning on Kimberly's blog about how I thought we were finally getting better.
2) I talked with Rebekah that morning. Her family is dealing with a terrible stomach virus. I think our minds are so in tune with each other that somehow her germs came across the phone line. Or, it could just be a big fluke since we haven't seen each other in two weeks.
3) I decided to wear my favorite shirt to the ceremony. A loose bohemian-inspired blouse, in a teal color that I love. Remember, the emphasis is on loose.

The Scene: A lovely dinner (that I did not have to prepare or clean up after) is served. Both sets of grandparents are there. Matt is looking exceptionally handsome in his uniform. Mark and Tyler are looking good in their uniforms. I am a proud scouting wife and momma.

The ceremony begins. James begins to get a little antsy and Abbie says she will take him to one of the preschool rooms so he can play. Off they go...

She returns in approximately five minutes to say that James has thrown up. I jumped up and followed her to the room. Yes indeed. It was a mess. I cleaned him up and the floor up. He seems fine, no fever, he is wanting to play with the toys in the room. So I go into denial mode, and declare it must just have been all the food he just ate and the three different pieces of cake he was picking at. I return with him back to the front of the room (all the crossing over families sat up front), and he settles back into my arms.

Within two minutes he gets "the look". The one that says "I am about to throw up big-time." I rush him towards the back and just as we hit the door he proceeds to throw up. And ladies, it was a mess. We rush to the bathroom, I set him down, and then I begin to throw up in the garbage can. It was that bad.

I am not going to go into detail about the condition of my shirt, face, and hair. And the fact that my loose shirt had enabled the vomit to go into places where vomit should never be. After I got over my throwing up episode I began to clean James up. I sent a lady to get Mark and told him I had no choice but to go home. I was covered. And then James started getting sick again. Lovely times.

Well, Mark told Matt and Matt began to get upset because this was his big night and the moms are part of the ceremony. My mom jumped up and took control of the situation. I love my mom.

She had on a jumper and a shirt underneath. She ran to the bathroom, jerked off that shirt, and took care of James while I changed. She and PawPaw took James home to our house so I could stay. Although my heart was torn, cause I wanted to be with sick James, I am so glad I got to see Matt do his thing. By the way, James threw up all the way home, all over their car. I knew he was in good hands though. My Mom is "The Mom."

At the end of the ceremony, all the moms stand up front and the boys present their moms with a little pin and a rose. The dads stand behind the moms as the boys are given their Arrows of Light and a little speech.

In this sweet touching moment, Mark leans forward around my shoulder and tenderly whispers,

"You reek so bad."

And I knew it was a night we would never forget.

I came home as soon as the ceremony was over in dire need of a shower. As I walked in the door my mom was holding James' little head as he threw up again. And then he proceeded to throw up at least 10 more times that night. So not an exaggeration. He fell into a deep sleep at 3:30 am and slept until 7:15. He awoke, got sick a little more, and than has been perfectly fine since then. So now I am waiting to see if it will hit the rest of the kiddos today.

So, today I am grateful for:

1) Banana Pops and Pedialyte for sick little boys.
2) A washing machine
3) Moms who save the day

I'll be back with another post soon with pictures of the cutest new Boy Scout ever!