Monthly Archives: December 2006

Dec 16 2006

Vomit to the Left of Me, Vomit to the Right

Just as I thought Aidan and Kieran had recovered from their various maladies, we got a call from the daycare at the end of the day yesterday. Aidan had thrown up on the playground and they wanted us to come get him.

I don’t know if it was a flu bug or the salmon casserole he had for lunch, but the poor guy couldn’t keep anything down. He threw up 4 or 5 times during the course of the evening (it’s not fun trying to get regurgitated oatmeal out of the carpet). He eventually got to sleep and I thought the worst had passed.

Silly daddy.

Aidan threw up a couple more times during the night, each time requiring a change of sheets and pyjamas. Needless to say that when Kieran woke up at 5:45 am with a really messy diaper, I was not in a great mood.

It’s amazing how being a parent changes your attitude towards bodily fluids. A few years ago I would have hurled when confronted with someone else’s vomit. Now, when confronted with startling diaper contents, vomit, snot, and other disgusting emissions, I barely bat an eyelash. Of course, I think this only applies to dealing with your children – I’m pretty sure I’d be sick if I tried changing someone else’s diaper.

Dec 16 2006

Short on Time

I’ve been finding it difficult to post regular entries lately. I think it’s a combination of the pre-Christmas rush and having two sick boys at home.As part of my job, I have to complete a number of mundane administrative tasks. For instance, every year at this time I have to prepare contracts for the musicians. This means updating each of the 60 contracts with new dates and salaries, getting them reviewed by colleagues for accuracy, printing three copies of each, attaching the cover letter, printing mailing lables, etc. As I said, mundane.So there I was at the office at 10:00 pm on Thursday night reviewing the first draft of the contracts. On an impulse I checked the salary sheet against the orchestra’s collective agreement and discovered that due to a rounding error on the spreadsheet, all the salaries were off by one cent a week. So now I have to go back and adjust every contract for the missing penny.It’s been that kind of a week…

Dec 11 2006

The Rideau Club

Faced with the prospect of hanging out with two infectious little boys the other night, Bronwen and I did what any responsible parents would do – we headed out for dinner with friends to the most exclusive private club in town.Founded in 1865, the Rideau Club has been the meeting place for Ottawa’s political, social, and business elite for generations (yes, they still let me in the door). While it once stood across the street from Parliament Hill, it is now located on the top floor of a downtown office building. It’s a little surreal stepping out of the elevator, through the elegant lobby, and into the richly decorated lounges and private rooms.Our friends Jim and Trish are members and invited us for dinner. Before sitting down to eat we took a brief tour of the Karsh room, which features about 20 large format portraits by legendary photographer Yousuf Karsh. The photographs are incredible, especially the iconic photos of Churchill and Sibelius.The food and service, as one might expect, were impeccable. I enjoyed the theatrics of the choreographed removal of the silver serving domes before the main course. The great food and wine were matched by engaging conversation – it’s rare these days that Bronwen and I get to enjoy a leisurely dinner with friends, and this was a reminder that we need to make more time for socializing.In case you’re wondering, the boys have mostly recovered and are back to school (whew).

Dec 7 2006

Outbreak


In short order, our home will be under quarantine. First came Kieran with his pneumonia, sinusitis, ear infection, and possible bird flu / ebola cross-mutation. He’s been at home all week and is only now starting to look and sound like his usual joyful self.

Yesterday the daycare called to say Aidan’s eye was looking red. Sure enough, he woke up this morning with a good case of pink eye (not to mention a hacking cough and rough voice). So, he was at home today too. Thankfully my Mom is around to look after them during the day or it would have been a very long week.

There are at least 12 kids away from the daycare this week with either vomiting, intestinal discomfort, flu, cold, or pneumonia. The little boys and girls must just be spitting, sneezing and breathing on each other all day – you can almost smell the contagion when you walk into the room.

Don’t worry – hopefully the infectious diseases will be gone by the time we bring the boys round for Christmas holidays. To be on the safe side, we’ll be handing out surgical masks in advance of our visits.

Dec 4 2006

Kids Say the Darndest Things II

Overheard at the Dearlove household this morning.

A: Daddy, you don’t have any money in your wallet.

Me: That’s right. I’m broke.

A: You’re not a robot. God made you.

It took me a couple of beats to figure this one out…