Astro Boy Conquers the Crud

Bleh. We've had the crud circulating at our house this week. First, it struck Parker who was lethargic and sad for five or six days. It was one of those things where, if we set her down for a moment and went into the other room to get her a drink, by the time we came back, she was face-down in the carpet, fast asleep. Poor kid. There aren't many feelings worse than having your little baby be sick and not being able to really help her in any way.

Next, it got Suzy. Sore throat, no energy, aches all over. She was miserable for three or four days before it started to relent a little. She seems to be more or less better for the time being. Let's hope it stays that way.

Now, I feel garbagy. My head feels like it's stuffed with cotton - more than usual. I feel weak and unmotivated to do much of anything. I just want to lay down and do nothing for the next 47 days or so. Bleh.

The funny thing about Parker's sick time is that the only thing she wanted, the only thing that really comforted her day-in and day-out was Astro Boy. Yep, you read that right. Astro Boy. It was a computer generated movie that came out in 2009 and was based on a Japanese comic book character that began in the 1950s. The character has had a lot of longevity, obviously, having been around for the last sixty-plus years, but the 2009 movie was kind of a dud. It came and went from theaters without making much of a ripple. Tie-in merchandise got put on clearance in Toys R Us stores across the country, and the film was relegated to the ghetto of all movie channels - Starz.

Well, I taped it on a whim once because I was curious and it just sort of sat on our DVR, not going anywhere, for a couple of months. Somewhere along the line, Parker caught a glimpse of it and started asking for it occasionally. This last week, while she was sick, she asked for it all day, every day. She would tolerate some of her other shows occasionally, but, more than anything, she just kept asking for "Asto-boyeeez." It's safe to say she watched it close to ten times over the last six days or so.


She likes the robots (wo-bots), the main character Toby (toe-beeee), and when Astro flies through the clouds (he fyin' thwo da cwowds.).

What can I say? My daughters are eclectic. It's strange that my two year old likes a pseduo Japanime film about a robot boy but, hey, we love what we love, right?

It does beg the question: what comforts you when you're sick? When you are feeling rough and are "home from school" so to speak, what helps you feel better? Is it a tv show or a certain food? My mom used to bring me comics from the rack at the grocery story when she ran out to get me medicine or whatever. They were often not the comics I wanted, but I always appreciated the gesture and felt better with my new copies of Archie or whatever at my side. So what is it for you? When you're sick, what's your Astro Boy?