It's been a tough few weeks for us. Mom's been sick, Dad's been sick, Zoë 's been sick (= lots of Dr.'s visits), grandparents left, Dad got the flu (but it seemed like the plague) and got quarantined while Mom took care of Zoë all alone (= hard!!!)... during this, electricity failed in the half of the apt that supported sanity (no internet, no TV...) But things are better now.
We all suffered to see Zoë struggling with her cold-- her little face would turn red as she used all her strength on a coughing fit. Then in fatigue her eyes would roll to the back of her head and she would recover to look at us with such a look of betrayal: "Why did you bring me to such a place of woe?!" As the coughs became more productive, she would be even more exasperated by the presence of the icky goo in her mouth. She would make a face of total disgust. Anyway, during one particularly miserable episode she put her hands in prayer ... and somehow we all survived this month after all.
But-- this month wasn't all bad. Zoë had her first smiles! Here's to the next month!