Tomorrow is December 1st and I think we can almost officially say that Luke was sick the entire month of November.

My poor baby’s pneumonia just didn’t go away with the first course of antibiotics. Two days off of them and he was up again all night coughing and crying. Eric’s first day back from his conference and he took Luke back to the doctor. He now has an ear infection.

That was last Tuesday. So, we started him on a second course of antibiotics and a nebulizer and inhaler. It was rough going for a bit there and one night Eric and I found ourselves standing over the crib at 1am watching Luke breath trying to decide if it was time to go to the ER. I wound up holding him in the rocker while the medicine took hold and about an hour and a half later, we all finally got some sleep.

In the scope of illnesses, I know we are incredibly lucky to have a strong healthy kid, who is bouncing back well in spite of it all. But, it sure has made for some chaos in this house.

We had a wild infestation of fruit flies that were loving the leftover bits of baby food in the trash can. I was subsisting on cliff bars and pasta while Eric was out of town…and don’t get me started on the laundry. I was arriving a little late to work and cutting out a little early. Answering emails with one hand while I nursed Luke with the other. The work landslide only got worse when I had to stay home on Wednesday so we could keep Luke out of daycare.

Every Wednesday morning I have a standing meeting that I really didn’t feel right about missing. Eric was here, just getting ready for work. So, we juggled the baby while the three of us listened to my call on speakerphone for an hour and a half, my microphone on mute, me running to the bedroom to chime in with my report.

I’d love to call time out for a minute so we could all take a breath and catch up but we all know it just doesn’t work like that. Eric and I decided a long time ago (right about the time that we moved to LA) that our life would be chaotic, crazy and messy some times…but while we worked for the life we really wanted, it would make for a good story.

These are the weeks when I have to remind myself why we do what we do. Why we live far away from family, why we work the jobs that challenge us to the ends of our limits but are where our hearts lie, why we choose to raise a child in the middle of a busy city. And, I have to just shake my head and laugh because I know every situation has trade offs. To get the benefits of the life we live, we have to take the bumps and the bumps we face usually just mean a bit of a mess and some tired mornings. The payoffs are huge and usually come around just when I think I can’t push it any harder.

The Thanksgiving weekend came at just the right time to remind me of everything we have to be grateful for in our life. Luke is on the mend and we’re back at the doctor tomorrow. We had a lovely long weekend, laying low, cooking and catching up on life. We’re a few weeks away from seeing family and friends, and our home is back in order–ready to lean on in to the climb for the next few weeks before a long Christmas break.