Bug Off!

My house is quiet.

Both girls are at school and Cohen is sleeping.

Wish it could be like this more often. *sigh* Someday... right?

So I get this letter from Jenna's school yesterday. Anything beyond a three day abscence for illness is considered unexcused unless I supply a doctor's note - standard law, I know, but oh boy! This is going to be fun when all three of my kids get into the school system! So here's why she was home: last weekend, Jenna started to get extremely irritable and ANGRY with anybody within venting distance. She does not understand when she's sick and she tends to let everybody know she's NOT HAPPY! Well, being the sensitive mom that I am :) I kept her home on Monday and scheduled a doctor's appointment for Tuesday. In the meantime, Jenna developed a bad cough at night when we went to lay her down. Monday night, she poked her finger into her ear several times, so I figured she had - as the doctor likes to say - monkeys in there. Tuesday the doctor confirms it - both ears infected. We pick up antibiotics and head on home to start them that evening. She's still battling the ear Wed and I figure antibiotics take at least 24 hours, right? So I keep her home. She's also still NOT HAPPY. We're exhausted and would love to ship her off on Thursday with the big yellow bus; however, she began to blow big green bullets from her nose constantly and I figured one look at that goo, and the folks at school would be calling me to pick her up, and being the nice person that I am :) I didn't want her to pass germs along to everyone in her class, so I kept her home Thursday. On Friday, same thing, except now she sleeps - a lot! For hours. I'm feeling very happy with myself because I decided to keep her home one more day and she obviously needs it!

So now, this letter, sicking the state laws on me. Youch! Here I am, trying to keep my kid from spreading this stuff around - like we need more sickness at school, right? - and giving my kid time to actually recoup and I feel like a bad mom! Like I'm lazy or something for not sending my kid off to school. Believe me, lazy would have been sending her, not keeping her home! It was a rather miserable week - for all of us!

Alright. So I called the doctor's office and spoke to someone there about getting a note. Office girl starts barraging me with questions - trying to CALL ME OUT, maybe? Hey, I feel like shouting, from now on I'll send my kid, sick or not, so the school can make the call - and possibly catch flying bugs in the meantime!!! Instead, I patiently (I think) tried to explain that my daughter has a disability - mild CP, brain disorder and seizure disorder - and not only goes down hard, but is more likely to have seizures if we push her when she's down. Last year, she had a major one this time of year at the tale end of a virus. It's like I have to justify my parental decision to keep her home and that SUCKS. So now, I wait for the doctor to approve the note and I will probably have to go pick it up at the office and hand deliver it to the school - one more thing to interrupt the PEACE AT LAST component of my day. That's my vent. Sorry. It's just... well, don't these people understand that sometimes they make you feel like you should just go ahead and send your kid anyways? Which, I bet, is exactly what some parents end up doing rather than hassle with a doctor's note or explanations!

I know they're just doing their jobs and this is just a form letter that everybody gets, but still...

I really dislike this time of year because illness sucks the life out of everyone! Nearly everyone I talk to is sick or has sick kids and some kids get sick for so long! Just after New Year's all three of my kids got sick from a 24 hour bug that really did last 24 hours for the other four families from our circle of friends but knocked my kids out for nearly two weeks. So, like I said, I will have fun when all three kids are in school, though I can hope their immune systems get stronger by then.

For their sake and for my sanity ;)

Wishing you all health, and if you happen to be battling something already, a SPEEDY recovery!