“Mom! My froat hurts!”
Ugh. Either Kathleen Turner is hiding in Piper’s bedroom or we’re headed down the sick path again. The raspy voice. The sweaty forehead. The cuddles from my normally bouncy girl.
“Can you make me my tea?”
One cup of orange spice with 1/4 cup apple juice, a tincture of echinacea, 2 tbsp honey, and 2 ice cubes coming up. With a straw.
Piper assesses how sore her throat is. “It feels like there’s a pretzel stuck in there.” As bad as that sounds it’s not as bad a the time she said she thought she’d swallowed glass. That was the dreaded strep throat. Double ugh.
I check her temperature. Again. I dole out ibuprofen. I wish for the hundredth time I had magic pills to give my kids when they’re sick. I wish I could go through it for them. Piper’s glassy eyes get glassier.
“Will you nap with me?”
Of course, baby. I could use the reserves, too. Who knows how long this will last? I already miss the Piper a.k.a. my squirrel on crack.
Her dad takes her upstairs for a quick bath and brings her back down weepy and wrapped in a towel. “She says you do it better. She just wants you,” he reports.
I warm a bowl of noodle soup. I blow dry her hair while she slurps.
“I know what we need,” I say. “Cherry Garcia. STAT!” Piper nods and takes her medicine.
piperism 
At least she can tell you that it’s her throat and that it feels like a pretzel stuck in there. EB just says “no” threw weepy eyes at everything I say when she’s feeling way sick. Asking me to take a nap with her would be a dream come true!
You’re so right! It’s a relief to have them communicate. You feel so powerless when they’re feverish and you’re just guessing. Piper has always been a great napper, which is why I know I have had nothing to do with their sleep habits. Same parent. Different sleepers.