Surviving the 'flu

No, sorry, this isn't an exciting survivalist post about equipping yourself to outlast your neighbours in a bird-flu epidemic. I haven't even got my standard 'earthquake kit' organised in this house yet - I had one in Palmerston North (where, admittedly, it was far more likely to be needed) - but dismantled it when we shifted. So no, not a super-girl-scout be-prepared post at all.

My advice for 'flu survival is - have paracetamol on hand. Have more than you think you need. Because you will run out of children's pamol. Luckily we ran out the day after Miss4's awful fever and chills etc - but this time last week I'd have said we had heaps of the stuff.

2 kids needing it around the clock for a couple of days can really put a dent in your supplies.

And then, just when you think you've made it - the kids have had it, you've had it (and coped with a lie down and some adult paracetamol), your husband reckoned he'd had it, but very mildly, since he wasn't feeling all that great early last week - you get a phone call from said husband at 2.30pm on a Tuesday and you have the following conversation:

"Urgh, I feel really awful. Just horrible. Please could you come get me? In, say an hour?"
"Oh no, not feeling well? Sure we can come get you - we could do it now if you like?"
"No, I think I've got one more thing I'll need to do. Better make it an hour."
"Sure, we can do that."

5 minutes later the phone rings again

"I've changed my mind - could you come get me now?"

And so, with a detour to the pharmacy to get some Codral 4 Flu, my hubby falls into bed at 3pm and has only surfaced once since then for some water and more drugs.

Luckily this one only seems to last 36 hours or thereabouts - at least, that's how it was for me and the girls. Now I just hope we haven't spread it to all our nearest and dearest. My MIL has probably carried it back to Petone with her. Oh dear.