Barf Bowls

Jarom and I have had the stomach flu this past week and as you can imagine it's been jolly. A regular bowl full of jelly. Hmmmm...that's perhaps more accurate than I'd originally thought. It's made me grateful for simple things like a sink in easy reach of the toilet for simultaneous emissions. Or for tile flooring instead of carpet. (Looking forward to potty training also makes me grateful for this.) And I'm particularly grateful for the relative ease with which the boys puke out their guts. I remember the first time Keahi ever threw up was during the night our first semester in Grenada. He didn't bother to get out of bed and come to me or cry out at all so the next morning when I went to wake him was the first I knew about it. The sight of his inflatable Thomas bed covered in dried up, half digested dinner--not to mention the state of Keahi's hair and clothes--was both intensely gross and strangely sweet. He got up and we washed him and the bedding and went about our day. After that I made sure to give him a Barf Bowl whenever he felt sick and he was excellent at using it--especially for a 2 year old. And now little Jarom, also 2 now, has also shown remarkable self control. Last night during dinner (of which he had maybe 3 bites before requesting a banana), he started drooling and scraping his hand through his mouth like he tasted something bad. He said, "Barf, mommy, barf." I wasn't sure if he was serious but I went and got a bowl for him. As soon as I placed it on his high chair table he leaned forward and spewed the meager contents of his poor little tummy directly into the bowl. When he felt he was finished he pushed the bowl away, let me wipe his mouth, and continued to eat his unfinished banana. He seemed much happier after that. So when Keahi tells me his stomach hurts or Jarom cries, "Baaarf!" I know to respond immediately and thank my lucky stars I got any warning at all.