One Excuse

There are so many things people don't tell you before you have children.

You "know" labor and delivery are going to hurt, but no one can prepare you for the relentless intensity and mental fortitude required.

You "know" the first weeks and months will leave you tired, but you had NO IDEA what tired even WAS until you go through that newborn haze.

There's no one to blame. There's no way to impart these experiences beyond what is commonly shared between the generations: "You'll understand when you have your own babies."

This week, Judah's seemingly harmless cough has developed into a persistent one, and is now accompanied by a fever.

He is miserable.

And there's no way to understand how some garden-variety virus, the likes of which we've all suffered and survived, can be so heart rending when it's preying on your boy.