Better living through chemistry

11 April 2010
Mountain View, CA

Dearest Ibuprofen,

We've know each other for many years, and I've always been very fond of you. You're always there, in the top zipper pocket of my gym bag, ready to help me in a tough spot. The first year we were together, you kept me walking and skating through that torn hamstring, and the sprained ankle and the re-sprained ankle. Later, you helped me with skater's heal and tendinitis. You were indispensible when the muscle separated from my shin bone and when I messed up an abdominal muscle doing layback spins. You even helped Dane get through his 2nd Dan test, and with the busted knuckle that came afterward. And as if all that weren't enough to prove how wonderful you are, how devoted you are to my family, you showed up again in those lovely 600 mg tablets after my C-section. Truly, I knew I loved you then.

But, Ibuprofen, I didn't know before that you come in an over-the-counter liquid form that can be given to teething infants. I had forgotten you and strayed. In the dark of night I had given Duncan and Tristan acetaminophen drops, and paid the bitter price. Sad babies, still in pain, unable to take another dose of Tylenol for two hours. But then -- after many sleepless nights, useless work days, and marital strife brought on by sleep deprivation -- I remembered you! And you, always giving, helped me again. After only a single dose of you, the babies stopped crying and slept for 12 hours! I slept. Dane slept. We felt like people. And this, this, has sealed my affection for you forever. I will never stray again. I will remain

Yours, devotedly,

Hanna

Disclaimer: I'm not really a fan of wantonly medicating myself or little babies. But we'd come to a point where everyone in our house desperately needed to sleep -- particularly poor little Duncan and Tristan. We're all still struggling a bit to get our feet under us after the staph infection, hospital, etc. Finding something that made their gums more comfortable was a godsend.