And then February tried to kill me

Never complain about a month. All the months are friends and if you complain about January, February's going to stick up for her and show you what's what when it comes to months that suck.
On the first of February, Zoe got the croup. One night of barking cough, steamy showers, freezing outdoors. Three days out of school. Then, on that Thursday, Erik said, I feel like I swallowed a Brillo Pad. He was out for a week. Max needed the steam/outside treatment but only one time. There is something lovely about being wrapped on a blanket, sitting on a picnic bench, staring at the stars. And yet.
I also missed AWP which was much harder than I thought it would be. Facebook is an evil temptress and every minute I just wanted to be with my people. I mean, I was happy to be with my here-people but they were sick people and lo though I wouldn't have wanted to leave Erik with two sick kids, I would have very much liked to dine with Dr. Write and HighTouch Mega and the other people I call my people when I'm not referring to my kids. (Shout out to Dr. Write again for taking my spot on the panel and regaling the people with her genius. Thank my good, brilliant friend).
Now, I was pretty sure I wasn't getting the croup. It had been a week since Zoe came down with it. 4 days since Max and Erik were debilitated by it. But on Monday, my ear hurt. By Tuesday, I sounded as much like a barking seal as any shower-sitting, outdoor freezing five year old. This disease was the worst I'd ever had (hyperbole? Maybe. Maybe not). Unlike your average cold, this one got worse every day instead of better. My head hurt. My nose felt like it would fly off with every sneeze. Coughing and just general dysphoria (I don't know if that's the word but I presume it means the opposite of euphoria). I taught my class. I wore my sunglasses whilst teaching. I made almost no sense. I infected my people (other people who are my people--my grad students). I apologize.
Erik, while sick, still tried to complete this living room remodel. He's scraped the ceilings, repaired the drywall, remudded said drywall, primed the ceiling, painted the ceiling, primed the trim. Now, it's just painting the trim and the walls. Maybe next weekend? I have high hopes but it's the project from hell, like all remodeling projects. I had no idea how difficult losing a living room would be. But it's our dancing space, my writing space, Max's please-don't-fall-down-the-stairs space. It's going to be beautiful. One day.
Max is sick again with something that made him wake up every twenty minutes crying last night. It's only been two weeks since he had the croup! I feel so sorry for him but also so sorry for me.
Also. It's supposed to snow 2 feet this weekend.
Work has been assessment, committee meeting, area meeting, thesis meeting, independent study meeting, and marketing meeting. Oh, and teaching assistantship meeting (but that was fun because my fellow assistantship meeting friend and I went out for wine and potato bruschetta after).
Also: bad politics. I'm thinking of starting a PAC called Raise-My-Taxes-Damnit. Assholes. Let me quote from my Facebook "On the proposed cuts to Planned Parenthood, Public Broadcasting and Education: Keep 'em pregnant, keep 'em uninformed, keep 'em stupid = keep 'em voting Republican." I'm thinking of making bumper stickers.
But, I shouldn't complain so much for fear that March takes offense on February's behalf. I'll end with good news: Erik and I are making a movie. So is he and a friend/former professor of mine. We're having Ina Garten's chicken. There has been almost 500 word a day writing (but many publishing rejections this month. Many more than zero, which is my preferred number of rejections). I was able to run in the woods last week without snow on the ground almost every day and I saw some strange sea-eagle looking bird. Also, I saw a bald eagle on my way to drop off Max at his day care--which I love and also love because she only charges us part-time fees. Also, Zoe and I went looking for owls during the full moon. Also I talked to a cool editor at Milkweed.
Plus, despite the wake-up-every-12-minute-night-to-console-sad-baby (and to swear a bit when I couldn't fall back asleep), today has been highly productive. Grant app for film, conference app for writing, finish 12,000 word essay/part of new project, write thank you letters, go to grocery store, make breakfast, lunch and (see previous paragraph), dinner, and wrote this post, finally. Also. It's almost March. Yay February! Thanks for being so short (see all the nice things I said March. See?)