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" Yesterday, Brit served mom and me our walking papers. I knew the day was coming; I just didn&amp;#039;t expect it to happen so fast. Despite many efforts on my part to make peace, mom and Brit just didn&amp;#039;t hit it off. It was a personality clash: Both were control freaks, both had very strong views on the proper way to raise a child, both enjoyed being the center of attention and hated sharing the spotlight.  They tried their best, but in the end it just seemed like the situation was hopeless. At least it did yesterday. Today is a different day, with a different reality. It&amp;#039;s like going to sleep one morning with President Bush and waking up the next with President Obama. I&amp;#039;m not sure what to expect anymore.  I haven&amp;#039;t slept in 24 hours. How could I after what happened? It was a terrifying night. I was so tense that I, unknowingly, pulled out a large clump of hair from the side of my head. Now I have this bald spot just over my right ear.  It began last night at around 8 p.m. Brittany gave ZJ a bath, while mom and I cleaned up dinner. ZJ was unusually moody and agitated. Brittany said it was because he didn&amp;#039;t have a long enough nap in the afternoon \u2014 when mom was babysitting him \u2014 and mom said it was something he ate. Turns out both were wrong.  As she did every night since we moved in, Brit took him out of the bath, wrapped him in a towel, and instructed him to kiss us goodnight. Usually he runs over, but on this night he dragged his feet lethargically and pecked me on the cheek, then he turned to mom but instead of delivering a kiss, he projectile vomited all over her sweater.  Mom jumped back, &amp;quot;Oh, my,&amp;quot; she said.  ZJ started to cry. Next thing we know, he keeled over and fell on his butt then onto his back, completely unconscious. I was the first to go to his side and what I saw froze me in my tracks. ZJ was shaking and gurgling.  Brittany arrived next. When she saw what I saw, she screamed. &amp;quot;ZJ!&amp;quot; She picked him up, but he didn&amp;#039;t move, so she shook him. &amp;quot;Wake up! Wake up!&amp;quot;  I was so terrified that I completely shut down and stood there passively, like I was watching some horrible drama unfold on TV. Before I could grasp what was happening, mom pushed me out of the way and took Zach from Brittany.  &amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s having a seizure,&amp;quot; she said, amazingly calm given the situation. Within seconds, she placed her hand in his mouth. &amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s burning up. We need to get him to the hospital.&amp;quot;  Brittany was so mortified she began to run around in circles looking for her keys. Mom grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door. &amp;quot;Come on, quick!&amp;quot; she said. I followed behind and we all leapt into a passing gypsy cab.  It must have been the world&amp;#039;s slowest drive to the hospital. As the driver missed every green light, Brittany shouted at him to go faster, while mom very softly patted ZJs face and sung gently to him. He was still unconscious.  When we got to the ER, the nurses raced him inside and took him into the pediatric ward. Mom explained what had happened as they took his vitals. She still had her hand in his mouth. As she spoke she rubbed Brittany&amp;#039;s back. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s going to be fine,&amp;quot; she kept saying. &amp;quot;He&amp;#039;s going to be fine.&amp;quot;  The great news is that ZJ is fine and on his way to a full recovery. He had a high fever and that caused him to have a mini-seizure, like mom said. The doctor informed us that we were lucky mom had the presence of mind to put her hand in his mouth or he might have bitten a hole through his tiny tongue. We spent the entire night in the hospital room, while tiny Zach slept in a big hospital bed. Brit fell asleep on mom&amp;#039;s lap as she stroked her hair.  I left them and headed out to grab a much-needed cigarette. Life is so fragile, I thought to myself as I puffed my Camel and sipped my double espresso. It didn&amp;#039;t matter where I would be next week or the week after, I was just happy little ZJ would still be in our lives. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/love-sex/mens-perspective/a4407/diary-he-112108/>