Between Waking and Sleeping

Sitting in the glow, of the laptop, I spent a moment listening. The fan in the guest room needs some WD-40. The cat is snoring. Allan's sleep machine is in a steady breath rhythm.

Joey is having some trouble. Congestion. Sometimes he wakes up with a cough, and I listen. I have him set up in the recliner, so he'll be sitting up- easier to breathe. He swallows, semi-chokes on the congestion in his sinuses in his sleep. I listen. A little cough, but no bark. The breathing is thick, but consistent. I'd go to sleep, but I listen instead.

We went to see the doctor earlier. He was scratched by the cat, and it got infected despite our cream regimen. The doctor suspects cat scratch fever, but we'd have to do a test for confirmation. The treatment would be the same, so no point. He has his antibiotic. Since the scratch is on his face, I worry- the nearest lymph nodes are the neck ones, I think. I listen.

A little choke, but he recovers. I doubt he'll be going to school tomorrow. He can't be getting much decent sleep. I don't know if the congestion is part of the infection, or just an opportunistic something else. It's almost 4 am, and I have things to do tomorrow. I need some sleep. Instead, I listen.

Caught between the quiet waking and the quiet of sleeping, I listen to my baby, making sure he is safe. It's what moms do, isn't it?