At home with a kid, who has the flu. She has slept til 9:30am, which I take as a personal victory. She was so feverish last night she ran into a wall. As I grabbed her arms, I felt the weight of a 5'7" 13-year-old and thought about how glad I was she was going to land on carpet. I had her arms, but there was no chance of doing anything more than letting her down gently. As she went down, I calculated to myself what rated a 911 call: unconscious for more than a few seconds is where I netted out. I repeatedly called her name and she came to almost as soon as she was laid out all the way.

She got back into my bed okay and said her forehead hurt from the wall smack. I told her not move while I got her an icepack and Advil. After the ice went on, I tossed off layers of blankets, as her forearms were roasting. We slept on and off, but she was restless, probably in part because I kept putting my hand on her, making sure she was breathing okay.

Sleep, because you are my little baby once again and I can care for every need.