What is love?

First, a couple of pictures.....Callum has really been getting into cooking lately!! He always wants to be involved, and he loves "stirring" things. Look at his focus as he puts some cheese on Amanda's famous homemade pizza (look at the little pile of mozzarella!)

playing with the spatula, getting ready to smooth out the sauce.....

First of all, a pledge from Goldsmith5 to post more. If not for you, for us. We want to capture all the small events of our humble lives up here in Maine...we want Callum to see it all someday.

I titled this post as I did simply because I used to think that the love between a couple was magnified by a power of 10 when they brought children into the world, and worked together to raise them; thus, I have seen my love for Amanda increase and develop into new and beautiful ways ever since we have collectively begun bringing up our son. However, I think even THIS love becomes exponentially more rich if husband, wife, and 1.5 year old become voraciously ill (with a bio-terrorism strain of stomach flu) and still manage to NOT ONLY not kill each other, but also take care of each other, nurture and support each other, and work through the squalor of what our home became yesterday. And now, arriving somewhat through the end of this thicket of diarrhea and vomit, I am proud of you Amanda....and I am proud of you Callum.....we all worked very well together yesterday.

Besides my experience with cancer, I can think of two other times in my life (and I am totally serious) when I have felt as bad. One was on the day we moved into our home in Fairfield, and the other was when I actually HAD real "influenza" three years ago. The past two days here on Military Ave have certainly rivaled both of these. I'll spare you most of the details, suffice to say that we were absolutely obliterated--I actually cried because I was too weak to even pick up my own son (now, this is absolutely hilarious!!)--Amanda and I were both truly emotional wrecks yesterday...in addition to physical wrecks. It must have been some type of 24 hour bug or something...because we are both eating, drinking, and walking--and keeping everything in our body, to digest in an orderly fashion. However, the utter weakness still remains--as any of my students who had me today will tell you. I went into school today (I dont know why) and basically just told them "okay....today sucks and I feel like crap....get out your midterm notes and study.....I'll be at my desk...shut up and get to work." And that was all.

Okay, it didnt go EXACTLY like that....but almost....

As with any traumatic situation, there are funny moments. Here are two:

1. Callum got us both sick (he is grounded). I got sick first (while Amanda was out at her book club on Wednesday night). As I was retching into the toilet bowl, pleading for my life with the porcelain god, thinking things couldnt be any worse (did I mention the mess on the floor?) I hear our little buddy awake in a fit of terror (I am LOUUUDDD when I throw up). So, with vomitous hands and shirt, I go to soothe by raucous son. Just what I wanted to do at that point.

2. During the 3rd or 4th time throwing up, for some reason, I started thinking of this clip in mid vomit-stream www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiQJ3c4o-Gl (if this doesnt work, please do yourself a favor and go to youtube, and enter "glee josh grobin." And then picture me laughing WHILE I was throwing up, and having carrots come out of my nose. This 22 second clip is, for some reason, the funniest thing I have seen in weeks. I love it!

So that is love. Throwing up one minute, and then kissing the next. Ah, the mystery of marriage just keeps getting more and more intriguing....