Henry woke up at four am screaming because he has an ear infection. I still find it difficult to believe, even though we’ve been to the doctor and she looked in his head and confirmed that yes indeed, he has a TERRIBLE infection in his right ear.

I just cannot believe that someone in this house is STILL SICK.

I am exhausted from all this sickness. It’s not really the virus that has worn me out, it’s the constant drain of needy sick people. Henry started screaming at four and screamed pretty continuously until nearly 7:30; he dozed off long enough for me to take a speedy shower and started up again as soon as I stepped foot on the bathmat. Most of the screaming was directed at me, in the form of a long incoherent rant about how I could CURE his ear infection if I would just TRY. There was also a complicated story about how the first time he had an ear infection, as a baby, I put my hands over his ear and a big ball of light appeared and he floated away in it and the ear infection was cured. And then there was a lot of screaming that I hated him because I wouldn’t do that again.

I have no idea what that was about.

Henry is a terrible sick kid; he gets anxious and overwrought and irrational. He is convinced that he is going to die from whatever ailment he has — stomach flu, fever, ear infection. And it both breaks my heart and infuriates me, at the exact same moment, because it is impossible to comfort him and also impossible not to be aggravated by the screaming.

The doctor gave him some drops to numb his ear, and he came home and fell asleep. But I’m having a hard time bouncing back from that first few hours this morning, and from the entire last week.

And the real irony is that today is the FIRST day that I’m feeling all better.