I Knew Instantly...

I knew instantly what the cough meant, as soon as I head the loud bark echoing through the dark house last night. Croup had struck again. I couldn't tell who it was, and I prayed that it wasn't baby Juliette. When I heard feet stumbling down the dim hallway, I was relieved because she could not escape her crib. I wasted no time waiting for the sick child to make his or her way down to my room and jumped out of bed. When a croup attack strikes, the esophagus contracts and the child struggles to breathe. The attacks tend to come in the middle of the night and the child is terrified. My oldest is seven and she had croup a few months ago - I'm not sure when her body will finally outgrow it.

I found Jack in the hallway, gasping for air. I scooped him up and took him right downstairs. I ran around in circles, looking for a large coat, before settling for a large brown blanket to wrap us both in. Then I opened the door and sat down on the stairs with him on my lap. The cold air immediately helped and his bark-like coughs abated. He started to calm down and lean in to me. I stroked his hair and assured him he would feel better soon.

After a minute or two, his breathing was returning to normal. I started to look around and take in our surroundings. The moon was full and yellow in the sky, with a thin veil of grey clouds around it. The lawn was covered in frost that shimmered like diamonds. The sky was mostly clear and filled with bright stars. I slowly lifted Jack's head and simply told him, "Look! Isn't it beautiful?" I knew he was ready to go back in when he agreed and said, "Hey? Is that a rocket?"

I held him close as I stepped back into our warm house, and although I was eager to get us back to our warm beds, and concerned that his croup would get worse in the night, I was also thankful for this stolen glimpse of the dark night we had just shared.

Tonight's Sunday Scribblings prompt was "I Knew Instantly..."