When Suzi started snuffling the second week of school, I knew it had to be allergies. After all, the leaves were starting to fall and blow about. That’s an allergy trigger, right? The temperature was in the mid-70s, so (ha, ha, ha) it couldn’t be a c –, a c –, you know, one of those nasty illnesses. Certainly it had to be the season change that was making my little darling blow bubbles out of her nose!
So in that second week of school I plied Suzi with full doses of Zyrtec to knock that hack out of her throat, all the time laughing nervously under the surface that this couldn’t be a c–, a c–, you know, that horrible thing all the kids get in February just in time to ruin Spring Break?
But I couldn’t ignore the facts forever. There were moms who couldn’t stop and chat with me because they were on their way to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions and multi-packs of tissue boxes for their suffering kiddos at home. Uh oh. And then one mom standing under her umbrella at after-school pick-up time whimpered at me, "No! Don’t come closer! I’m sick!"
Late last winter I might have hugged her anyway and said, "I’m not afraid of no stinkin’ germs, honey!" This September, I backed away slowly and left her alone… in the rain… with her germs.
Maybe by mid-winter I’ll give into the inevitable. I mean, when everyone is sick, there’s not much you can do. But for now, I’m not ready for winter – and I don’t want to be sick!
Still, within a few days it was clear that Suzi’s wheezy snores, dribbly nose and constant hacking cough (usually in my face, thank you very much) were no allergy. She had a COLD. Her sister Patti and I did a fancy, don’t-want-them-germs dance as Suzi coughed indiscriminately in all directions. But once she stealthily climbed into my side of the bed and coughed on me throughout the night, I gave up hiding from germs.
Somehow, Patti and I dodged the bullet and stayed healthy while Suzi got better. But let’s face it: Once we put the kids in school, the colds and illnesses are never far behind.
Hmmm… maybe homeschooling wouldn’t be so bad, after all.
