Lungs, Glorious Lungs

And so it continues. Both Alex and Jim were at 102 this morning.

• Jim went to the doc. Diagnosis: Bronchitis approaching pneumonia, throat infection sinus infection.

• I called the pediatrician about Alex: "Oh, it's going around. It's probably a virus. If he still has a fever on Friday morning give us a call."

And that's the difference between a high fever in an adult and in a child.

To make this opera related...

Today I tackled that tricky part very very slowly, one note at a time, then did lip trills, then chanted the words, then very slowly sang the words. I think I got it. And just for the record, we're talking about 2 measures of music here, not much. It's like my brain has some sort of block when it comes to learning all the components of the measure - rhythm, notes, words.


Two weeks until Barbiere!!!!

All I Want...

... is a full night's sleep. Is that too much to ask? Another sicko day here in the I'd Rather Be Sleeping Household. Did get a chance to practice my vibrato scales a little, but singing is out of the question thanks to the bizarre cough. Spent 2 hours this afternoon holding a feverish Alex while he napped/dozed. Jim came home with a fever of 102 (no doubt vectoring (infecting) the Rutgers undergraduate population, or at least the students who showed up for class) and then Alex took over 2 hours to get to bed. Parents of toddlers who read this will need no further details as to what that means.

I don't think any of this is good for the vocal cords. Especially the part when I finally lost it and yelled, "Get back in bed or I'm turning off the light and shutting your door!"

Ok, here I go to try and sleep for 8 hours IN A ROW...

What's Your Vector, Victor?

Illness spreads through the house. It starts when coworkers come to work sick. They pass bacteria with the file folders and I bring it home.

I woke up coughing Thursday. Friday I developed a fever. Yesterday, Saturday, Alex refused to eat and was generally whiny. I was still feverish and feeling worn out. Last night I was up most of the night with Alex as his temperature went up up up - 102.5 in the ear thermometer that I'm still not sure how to use. (for example... I was 100.5 in one ear and well below normal, like in the too cold to be alive range, in the other...) Today I have a cough that finishes like an old car struggling to start in the cold. Alex is still a bit warm and now Jim has a low grade fever and cough. I don't recall a contagion spreading this quickly through the house before. Hopefully it'll be gone tomorrow in time for work and school.

Strangely, I can still sing. I'm not singing much because the cough irritates my throat, but Alex keeps asking me to sing from this little songbook of children's songs so I do.