My Teammate

I know this whole thing is going to sound ooey and gooey, but I just can't let this one pass without talking about it. Last night I went to the gym. Marcos worked late again so I took the kids to the nursery there and he picked them up about 30 minutes later. The kids were fed and I had dinner in the fridge for Marcos to heat up. He came over to my class, waved to me and took the kids home. He bathed them, put their pajamas on, fed Dylan a piece of bread and a string cheese (he's been using hunger as a stall tactic so we're countering it by giving him a snack before bed), brushed teeth, read, said prayers and tucked them in bed. I got home from BodyJam all pumped up and excited from a great workout and some serious new dance moves to share. The second I begin showing off to my hubby, I hear Preston cough and then nothing. It was just too weird so I ran upstairs and sure enough he's puking everywhere. I run to the stairs to whisper/yell down to Marcos to come help. I grab Preston and run to the bathroom while Marcos pulls all the bedding out of the crib. He rinsed it in the tub (with instruction from me) and then freaks out about the drain being clogged. We switch places and he proceeds to bathe Preston while I pull nasty vomit out of the other bathtub and flush it down the toilet. Yuck! He takes the laundry downstairs, I use disinfectant wipes and spray on the crib mattress and we put another crib sheet on the bed. Poor little Preston was shivering and didn't know what to think. I'm pretty sure this is his first real stomach bug - that I can remember at least. We put him back to bed and I went in to shower. I get myself a little snack and sit down to eat and sure enough, we start the whole process over again. I think we went through that cycle 4 times before we decided to go to bed and put Preston between us with a bowl so we could attempt to catch the throw up instead of having to clean it up every time. My little man was dry heaving all night long once his little belly was empty. No sooner do we get him settled, then we hear Dylan awake at 4am. Marcos takes Dylan downstairs and I keep the little guy with me in bed. The day rolls around and Marcos and I are both exhausted. He was late for work and not sure what to do. His boss finally called him back and recommended he just take the day off rather than be late and have time to make up. Great, so there goes another PTO day, but at least I have some help. Preston ended up falling asleep in his arms while Dylan and I scrubbed the bathrooms. I can't help but clean in a frenzy when there are sick germs floating around the house, even though I know the likelihood of this bug going through all of us is pretty high. I finish cleaning while Marcos feeds Dylan and takes him to preschool. Now this doesn't happen every day because my eternal teammate goes to work most days and leaves me to handle such incidences alone, but I can't help but be truly grateful for this partnership we have. It is so seamless most days. We both know when the other has had a hard day and don't mind helping each other out. I can't imagine trying to do "my job" alone and I think he feels the same way. My mom was a single parent for a few years and I just cannot imagine trying to do everything she had to do alone. I'm sure glad I don't have to. Sure Marcos and I get on each other's nerves plenty - neither of us is exactly the most patient of people - but the love and commitment we have for each other is real. This morning he commented on how nice it was to work together as a team and be able to get so much done together. Sick kids is such a messy job, but together it was not nearly as hard. So thanks, Marcos, for being such a great teammate! You know when to pass me the ball and when to take it and run yourself. Together I think we might just get through this crazy life!