Between daycare, an elementary school, and a high school, our den is prime real estate for germs to be passed from one bear to the next with sometimes very unfortunate results. This weekend these germs reared their ugly head and knocked half of us off our feet.
It started with me on Saturday night. Sean and I enjoyed a date night out at a colleague’s birthday party. On the drive home, I started to feel bad and by the middle of the night I was praying to the porcelain gods. This wasn’t the result of too much drinking and no it’s not an early sign of morning sickness. My initial thought was food poisoning but the madness continued well into Sunday afternoon. I spent the majority of my Sunday either in bed or tossing my cookies- definitely not my idea of a good time! I was certainly in no condition to write a blog post.
By Monday morning, I was feeling more like myself and finally able to keep food down only to discover that poor Liam was now sicker than a dog. Armed with a bucket, we dropped Atticus off at daycare and trekked to CVS to arm ourselves with Nauzene, Pedialyte, 7 Up, and fresh bread. All of the essentials, to help fend off the ickiness of a stomach bug. For all of the times Liam threw up, the little guy was one hell of a trooper. His lingered around longer than mine so he spent half the day at home today and the other with his Grandpa Jim to make sure he was fully recovered and ready to return to school tomorrow.
By the grace of God, Atticus appears to be spared. I pray both Sean and him fare better than the two of us. To combat the breeding ground of germs in our house, I’ve been running around with Clorox spray, disinfectant wipes, and Lysol trying to prevent these nasty germs from settling in like their welcomed guests.
When half of your clan falls flat on their rear, it definitely debunks the “sharing is caring” adage we sprinkle on our children like confetti for most of their formative years. Sharing is not always caring when it comes to spreading germs from one person to another.
Aside from recounting the disgustingness of the last few days in our casa, I am writing this blog as a PSA for other Mama Bears out there. The flu in various strains is running rampant across the country. We have an obligation as mothers to recognize the signs, take the necessary precautions, and keep our children out of schools and daycares when they’re sick. Most schools maintain a policy of 24 hours fever and symptom free for a reason. While Liam seemed to be on the mend last night, I knew if the shoe was on the other foot I wouldn’t appreciate another parent sending their child to school when they might still be contagious. It might not always be convenient either. After all, I missed a day and a half of work. But things aren’t going to get better if we don’t make a concerted effort to change the trend. Take precautionary measures like hand washing to minimize the spreading of germs. But more importantly keep yourselves and your children home when they’re sick. Sharing really is not always caring, especially when it comes to contagious viral infections, flus, and the like!
Okay, I’ll simmer down now and put an end to my Mama Bear rant, at least for now.
Birds of a Feather 