Pea is sick today. For the first time in her 2.5 years on earth. Sure, she’s had sniffles before, a cough here and there. But she’s never been sick. Never needed antibiotics or anything of that nature. Up until today, that is.

She woke up with a fever. It spiked this afternoon at about 104 degrees. My husband was able to get her in to see a doctor – don’t ask me how – and when he called to give me the update as they were leaving the office, he told me that my little Pea has an ear infection.

My husband and I both suffered greatly through our own adolescence with ear issues. I had my adenoids out at 3, he’d already had several ear surgeries by that age. So it really shouldn’t have been a shock to hear that she had one, right? And yet, it was. Because she never complained of pain in her ear. Never yanked on it or gave any sign that she was not feeling so well. Sure, she was a little sluggish today and had a minimal appetite, but she was just as affectionate and playful as ever. But I guess kids are just weird like that?

I just remember the ear aches from my own childhood. They were painful and I would get nauseous and spend most of my time hanging my head over a toilet bowl and crying. And then there was the pink medicine, all thick and gooey and cloyingly sweet in the spoon. Ugh. It was awful. The doctor told my husband that for two weeks she shouldn’t get her ear wet, in the bath. How am I going to manage that, I thought? The kid thinks she’s a pretty mermaid and that the bathtub is a swimming pool and lives to stick her entire head under water and hold her breath. So, I did what any parent would do. I got in the tub with her, thinking that if I took up two-thirds of the tub, there was no way she was going to be able to “swim.” And I was right. And as I sat in the bath tonight with Pea, my husband on the stool preparing her medicine, I caught a whiff of it and it brought me back… I swear it’s the same sticky sweet liquid I took as a kid. And some things just never changed. I ended up wearing it. Yes, it must be the same medicine…