Dear Family,

You remember that you all have been basically sick since Christmas? Passing it around back and fourth? Shana you remember taking almost a week off work to sleep and hide from the reality of life/work/kids? Marissa all those days and nights in the children's hospital? Well now that mommy is sick I realise that you will all still be hungry, there are still diapers to change and baths to give...I will still need to meet your school buses and sign notes from your teacher. You will still have appointments I must keep, the phone will still ring even though my throat hurts so bad I can't swallow my own spit. So knowing all of this I only ask a few things of you...Could you not play with the volume on the TV 'just to see how loud it will get'? Would you mind not trying to flush a disposable diaper down the toilet while I desperately try to 'rest my eyes' on the couch? Would you please not try and rearrange all of the furniture to 'cheer' me up? Yes, I know, you were only 'trying' to help when you took the clean laundry off the chair and put it in that big pile of laundry by the laundry room...I realize you weren't aware that pile contained the dirty laundry...but could you please try and avoid helping in those ways? Marissa, could you please try not to break your IV tubing? Its starting to become routine and its scaring the shit out of me...its also not at all acceptable for you to remove the tape around the claves and to simply unscrew your lines...you do realise that bleeding out all over the place isn't amusing at all to anyone? Not even me, not even when you smile really big and show me that you know how to reconnect them. These are only a few small things I am asking of you, family. If you wouldn't mind helping me out in these ways I would greatly appreciate it.
Love,
Mommy