Monday, April 10, 2006

Illegal Immigrants and Vomit, Unrelated

The news reported that 20,000 people marched the streets of Seattle today, demanding their rights as illegal immigrants. What a great country we live in when you can be in violation of the law, yet demand your rights. From the U.S. Constitution: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like the privileges and immunities we enjoy in this country are extended to its citizens. Yet, isn't it remarkable that thousands upon thousands of people who have no legal right to be here take advantage of our magnificent freedom of speech? I love this.

Well, enough of that. What follows is a discussion of bodily fluids and if you are squeamish, you may want to look away.

Last night, 10:45 p.m., cries from my daughter's room. I hurry upstairs--she's had a cold, remember, a mild one, but lately, bad dreams have plagued her. One involved a spider eating a bumblebee, which was traumatic for all concerned. I expected to pat her on the head, offer a trip to the potty and sleep tight.

Alas, it was not to be. I opened the door to find her distressed and gooky because her tummy ache had turned into a vomit-fest. I ran bathwater, stripped her crib, remade the crib, dried off the girl, dressed her in fresh pajamas, rocked her and put her to bed.

Then I repeated the process an hour later.

And an hour later.

And two hours later.

And two hours after that.

And an hour later.

After the second set of soiled sheets, I wised up and put a thick bath towel over the sheets and covered that with a king-sized flannel pillowcase, so the next time she woke up and threw up, I only had to remove the towel, not the sheets. Unfortunately, by that time, she was having involuntary diarrhea, so I still had to run bathwater and change her pajamas.

At 7:00 a.m., I telephoned parents to ask them not to bring their children. This is the second time in three years of childcare that I've had to do so, but I still felt terrible giving such late notice. I was so happy that Spring Break was over and that my sons would all be gone--either to school or homeschool P.E. at the YMCA.

So, my day (a lovely, spring day full of breezes and blue skies) was spent holding my girl as she gazed at the television, interrupting the stupor only to occasionally heave into a Rubbermaid bowl. She faked me out, though, at one point and vomited all over my shirt while proclaiming, "I AM DONE! I AM DONE!" She wasn't. We went upstairs, then, and she curled up in my bed and watched television while I showered. By the time I finished, she was asleep and so, when the boys got home from P.E., I was able to march them through adding and subtracting decimals. When she woke up, she was fairly cheerful, though not entirely well.

Demonstrating my superior abilities and endurance as a mother, I cleaned out the refrigerator during her later afternoon snooze in the recliner. And I made a healthy dinner featuring broccoli and brown rice.

At this point, I am just hoping to sleep all night long.

And I do apologize for this lengthy discourse about vomit. Turn in tomorrow for our next installment of As The Stomach Turns. Or more scintillating, uninformed political commentary. Look out, Eschaton and Instapundit, or I'll be stealing your readers and usurping your place in the Ecosystem!

I also want to talk about secret things women keep in their purses. Soon, I hope.

Update: Last night, we slept all night! This morning, the stomach ache is gone, but now she has a persistent headache.

16 Comments:

Blogger Rae said...

It's crazy how even when you're losing sleep and it's so disgusting, you just love your kids so much and want to make them feel better, and it's not so bad.

I hope you get sleep tonight.

11:27 PM  
Blogger Suzanne said...

Remember way back when, the first time I commented on your blog? When I expressed the sentiment I'd rather be you than your well-groomed friend?

Well. I'm reconsidering my position after this story of vomit.

Sure hope your girl is feeling better today.

Suzanne


PS: Ooooo... secret things in purses! I have some of those!

5:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ah man. I was so excited to try for my first baby I forgot all the nasty things... maybe I should rethink my decision!

7:39 AM  
Blogger that girl said...

poor baby. i hope she feels better, and i hope you get some rest tonight!

8:44 AM  
Blogger oshee said...

The worst part about vomit is how the smell can work its way through your entire house. Ugh! Your poor daughter. Such a miserable time for her. Also, how good of you to have seemingly kept a good attitude through it all. I applaud you!

9:26 AM  
Blogger Susie said...

Rough night! Poor little one and poor Mama too!

9:33 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

yep, I was up with a vomiting 3 year old last night, too and the night before that ,with a vomiting 6 year old. I'm only going to assume that soon it will be the 9 year old.

9:46 AM  
Blogger dinodoc said...

Okay so *somebody* has to comment about the immigrants thing so I guess it's me! lol

On the local news last night the headcount was 40,000 but I digress.

Whoa, whoa, whoa Mel! Why are you assuming ALL of those people were illegals? Did you not watch the interviews of all the naturalized citizens who were marching? Did you not see the born-right-here citizens marching? Didn't you see all the WHITE PEOPLE marching?

That's rather sad.

11:15 AM  
Blogger Shalee said...

I don't get why Congress can't understand the entire title: illegal immigrants. Hello? As in against the laws...

I got this email from a friend, but it fits perfectly...

Try this in Mexico

1. Try driving around as a Gringo in Mexico with no liability insurance, and have an accident.

2. Enter MEXICO illegally - never mind immigration quotas, visas, international law, or any of that nonsense.

3. Once there, demand that the local government provide free medical care for you and your entire family.

4. Demand bilingual nurses and doctors.

5. Demand free bilingual local government forms,
bulletins, etc.

6. Speak only English at home and in public and insist that your children do likewise.

7. Demand classes on American culture in the Mexican school system.

8. Demand a local Mexican drivers license. This will afford other legal rights and will go far to legitimize your unauthorized, illegal, presence in Mexico.

9. Insist that local Mexican law enforcement teach English to all its officers.


It makes no sense to me. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Change: I'm praying that your family is on the mend. You deserve a break, woman!

11:44 AM  
Blogger ~Jennifer said...

Oh, we had another vomit night too. I wonder how many other bloggers are writing about vomit today.

It looks like round two of whatever virus is going around is upon us.

My night wasn't as bad as yours though, and I went back to bed at 6 and slept till 11. My husband took the day off. whew.

1:27 PM  
Blogger Yvonne said...

So there is this great over the counter stuff on the market called Emetrol. When there is persistent vomiting, you take the prescribed amount - then take another dose like 15 or 20 minutes later - usually stops the vomiting - even the dry heaves. I swear by this stuff, and everyone should have a bottle in their medicine cabinets - check it out the next time you are at the drug store.

4:45 PM  
Blogger Deb Heller said...

Oh, poor babies! I hope it doesn't spread from that little one to the rest of the family. Well, been there, done that & never fun. I hope the little one's headache is gone soon!
deb

6:51 PM  
Blogger Lisa said...

glad to hear the little one is feeling better and that the headache leaves soon!

9:43 PM  
Blogger Kristin said...

i'm jumping in late and i hope your daughter is better but i wanted to throw in my 2 cents about immigration...

it is, imo, more complicated than: they're illegal, go home.

many illegals contribute greatly to the running of this country (rent, "a day without a mexican") and while i don't advocate open borders, i do advocate responsible hiring, medical care and education... the children born here are legal citizens and we need to consider if we are really going to go in and bust up families? probably not...
also, i would strongly question the argument "they take jobs" because i have never had anyone other than a person of latio heritage (legality not factored) apply for a job as a yard man or a housekeeper...

this is a poorly worded comment and i apologize... i just think that we need to see the humanity in these people first, consider WHY they leave behind their homes, their families and their culture, think about how our government can perhaps encourage economic growth in those countries, and then come up with a systematic guideline to support those illegals who have been working successfully in this country...

12:14 PM  
Blogger Kristin said...

i tend to be v.v. liberal, much to the dismay of many around me, but we can still be friends! :-)

12:19 PM  
Blogger Mary said...

To be honest, I really don't know where I stand on the issue because I see both sides. I do agree with Kristin, though, in that we need to see the humanity in others. As soon as we see start labeling people as "us" and "them", we've got a dangerous perspective.

1:35 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home

Parents Blog Top Sites

Powered by Blogger

Listed on BlogShares