well-hidden silver lining

I woke up on Friday at 3 am.  I thought it was just gas.  I could not get comfortable and I could barely sleep.  At 5 am, I finally got some relief, um . . . how can I say this?  Well, I apparently had a stomach/intestinal bug.  Let's just say all exits were utilized SIMULTANEOUSLY!  The worst.

I would rather not revisit, and I am sure you don't want to hear details, so . . .  moving on.

It was the first time in 4 years that I have cancelled my babysitting services (verses taking a planned day off, which I have done).  It was so last minute.  I texted the moms and apologized, but explained that I was ill.

Rice rollers:  think rice cake, but minus
 the cake aspect, so less flavorful.
 Think food for people who don't take
 pleasure in eating.  Rice rollers help
those of us who enjoy eating, and still
want to feel the sensation of chewing even
 if it means crunching on something so
 boring as this because gluten
free living is not a choice but a hardship.

Next I used my cell phone to call my children on the landline.  'Get out the bacterial wipes, and wipe down handles and whatever else you can!  This must not spread!  Also, make sure all the food gets put away and the garage door goes down when you guys leave for school.'  The basics.

This was just so unexpected, because:
     1. no one else in the family had been sick.  and
     2.  I am a grown up - how could I be the one to go down with this?  Haven't I been exposed to EVERYTHING by now?

This was different from when Mini invited us to all puke along side her in a show of solidarity Halloween of 2017.  Remember?  If you haven't, this is a must read.  (floors being refinished, staying at my parents' house.  Oh dear God, it was Hell on earth).

All this available,
but most of it off limits.
 Am I playing on
 your heartstrings yet?

Anyway, I stumbled downstairs hours later after rotating a few hours of sleep with a few bouts or bathroom unpleasantness.  It strikes me as funny that in moments of crisis I manage to forget that I have celiac disease.  I was heading towards the kitchen thinking that it was time for toast and sprite (after stirring to remove the bubbles, of course).  Then it dawned on me.  No toast.  No dry cereal.  No saltines.  What would I nibble on?  A rice roller saved the day.

Food  normal people
 eat after hurling.

The kitchen was a mess.  I didn't care.  The food seemed to have been stowed back in the fridge.  That was a small feat.  I was debating where I would plant myself for the next few hours.  The couch or back up to my bed.

I needed a cup for the Sprite.  That's when I discovered a true miracle.  The dishwashers.  Both of them.  Had been unloaded.  And I had nothing to do with it. No reminders.  No texts.  No threats.  No sleepy-voice, raspy-from-vomit orders from the depths of my darkened do-not-enter bedroom.  They just did it.  If I wasn't so dehydrated, I may have shed a little tear.