Ah to the choo....

There is nothing like waking up to the lovely soothing sounds of a child retching in the wee hours of the morning. Why, you just know it's going to be a wonderful day of laundry, constant cleaning of bathroom, temperature checking, soup making, motrin dispensing....ah, joy!!!

So I call up the school to let them know Gabe will not be going in, and the questions start..."do you think it's swine flu?" "Does he have a temperature?" "Is it high?" "Are there any changes?" "Is his brother here?" "Is his brother fine?".......Amazing how it all spirals out of control. It's allergy season, the weather is changing, everyone is back at school on top of each other, things are bound to be passed despite the daily bathing in hand santizers, constant hand washing, coughing and sneezing into elbows, face masks, etc...... Yet there is always that panic, there is always that fear because every time you turn on the TV or the radio there is talk, and that leads to worse case scenarios which in turn allows sanity and common sense to take a back seat while we envision the worst of the worst.....So I get a second call from the school, this time middle school....Will is feeling sick, his stomach is upside down, the nurse is nervous. "I have Will here, he says he isn't feeling well, given the threats of the swine flu I think it's best if he goes home, we wouldn't want to take any chances."......
So now the flu is a terrorist dropping threats....
And I have 2 sick kids home........
As long as I have enough toilets, toilet paper and toilet bowl cleaner I should be fine.......I hope....

Truth is it's always heartbreaking to see your child struggling, not feeling well, out of sorts. It's never easy to relax and let the child heal without turning to every home remedy, every over the counter relief meds, without calling the doctors office at least once to give them the heads up that they will probably be seeing you by the end of the day. It is what it is in this case, until it passes, and when it does, child # 3 will probably feel the need to hug a toilet and lay still in bed, under fluffed up covers dosing off amidst an afternoon filled with classic cartoons and warm liquids ........

Is it the seasonal flu, is it swine flu? I don't know yet, it's too soon to tell, but I do know that either way, soups on, the boys are resting, Boomerang is on the tube, and the thermometer and the motrin stays close at hand.......ah, how lovely, sun is shining, birds singing are on their way to warmer shores, the air is crisp and the autumn colors especially sharp and brilliant......where to stick that thermometer........................................