A recent challenge we’ve faced with blending our families is spreading illness across both our families. If you’re one of those people who brags about never getting sick, you don’t have children. And if you do have children, and never manage to catch one of the cold or flu strains they bring home from school, my hat’s off to you.
I prided myself on rarely getting sick as well … until I had children and that drastically changed. Now I feel like no matter how much care I take to make healthy meals, make sure everyone gets plenty of exercise and sleep, and how often I tell the kids to wash their hands, an illness brought into our home often makes its way to multiple r family members.
And now that we’re spending a great deal of time with Marc’s family, illness evidently not only makes its way around our family, but Marc’s as well, and vice versa.
Marc’s daughter Hannah was the first to fall ill, quickly followed by his son Jaidyn and my daughter Marielle on the same day. After they both missed school for an entire week due to fevers and persistent belly coughs,my youngest Cosette fell ill, though thankfully not to the same degree, but enough to come home from school early one day feeling sick and sleep the rest of that day away.
Caroline and Marc were last to get ill, though Marc never actually admitted to being sick, just that he had “an unusually low energy level” and “didn’t feel well” for about a week.
We’ve been enjoying sharing back and forth for the last year: taking turns making school lunches for everyone, planning and executing family day trips and vacations together, attending weddings and funerals together, playing family games and having meals together.
But illness is one thing I don’t like sharing at all. And usually, by the time one child shows symptoms of illness, they’ve already been exposed to everyone else.
It’s a small price to pay, however, for all the joy that blending two families has brought, and a price, though uncomfortable, we are more than willing to pay.
