Last Saturday was the fall book sale at the Salt Lake City Public Library. I love, love, love this sale; hardbacks are $1 a piece, and there are many books that have been discarded with no or little wear.
I came home with 61 books, all of them children’s books — picture books, novels, non-fiction. I won’t gush too much over my finds, because most of my friends would simply roll their eyes and scratch their heads over the squeals of glee I emitted when I found the Opie/Sendak collaboration I Saw Esau, or American Folk Songs for Children, edited by Ruth Seeger and illustrated by Barbara Cooney.
Or Gloria Whelan’s Listening for Lions. Or Brock Cole’s Buttons. Or a hardly-read copy of NBA winner What I Saw and How I Lied. (For those rare nerds who know these books: see? The book sale is AWESOME!)
And it was a good thing I had those books to read, because shortly after the sale ALL THREE OF MY CHILDREN CAME DOWN WITH THE FLU.
Oh, yes. The good, old-fashioned wasting fever kind of flu. I didn’t leave the house for days, didn’t talk to any other adults except Brian and the few people who called me on the phone. Ack.
Jeffrey was the last to get it, which was a good thing, because he’s the most high-maintenance of my kids when sick. Ella and Wimmy spend their sick days taking 4+ hour naps, but Jeffrey follows me from room to room, drapes himself over any available furniture, and moans, moans, moans, asking for me to play games and read stories.
Which, really, isn’t that daunting of a task. I fished out my old CD-ROM of King’s Quest VI and played it through (which I have already done half a dozen times since I first played it sixteen years ago. Love that Prince Alexander). Jeffrey loved helping me solve the puzzles, find the magic map, answer the riddles, cast the magic spells and rescue the princess. He covered his head with a blanket when Prince Alex travels to the Land of the Dead and challenges Lord Death. And he laughed like silly when Alexander finds the genie’s lamp at the very end.
But beyond that fun stuff, I went more than a little stir-crazy. Now the children’s fevers have gone, but Jeffrey and Eleanor have developed nasty coughs — the kind that lasts all night. When they are in the same room, the coughing is frequent and loud enough that they sound like a pan of popping corn. Poor kiddos.
Casa Camisas 
I wanted to go that so bad, but our schedule just would not allow it. Oh well, there is always next year.
The book sale, not your house filled with sick kids, and ancient video games.
My sympathies! I hope you’re all doing much better now. Just look on facebook–you’re not alone! That was me several weeks ago, and I know I’ve seen other moms complain of the same thing.
Have a great day!!!
You don’t even have to wait a year for the next book sale — there will be another one in the spring. You and Maggie should come, I always enjoy going with other people.
The book sale sounds great, though it took me a second after seeing NBA to see it had nothing to do with basketball. I’m sorry your kids were sick– mine had a similar thing this past week, except that Alexander mysteriously avoided it.