New Sick Kid Rules

If you follow the news, you know that University of Kansas resumed classes last Thursday, and by Monday 47 of the kids had the swine flu.

Well, Xavier is playing in their league. School here started last Wednesday, and Xavier woke up with a croupy cough yesterday morning. Luckily (I think), it does not look like the flu. (Mom, before you correct my grammar, the sentence above is correct -- I think I am lucky it is not the flu.) The problem is, Xavier has a runny nose, occasional cough, and no fever. In fact, with the minor inconvenience of his asthma and being nagged about blowing his nose, he feels great! But, because of flu fears, he is not allowed to go to school. According to our county's new "accepted level of wellness" rules, no child with a runny nose, cough, or temperature over 99.7 is allowed in school. Last year, we would have sent him to school like this; this year, I am learning it is nigh impossible to work from home when your child is bouncing off the walls.

Today, I caught Xavier coughing his head off as he jumped on the sofa (as if it were a trampoline), and told him to stop and blow his nose. "Don't you want to get better?" I asked.

"Nope!" he replied.

Not sure I'd heard him correctly, I said, "You don't want to get better?"

"Heck, no!" he replied. "As long as I am sick, I get to stay home with Mom, get snuggled by Mom, make YouTubes, play with Legos, drink root beer and watch videos. I NEVER want to get better!"

Daddy is staying home with him tomorrow.


On that note, here's a plea to friends and family that is not a joke ...

On the one hand, I am thrilled that kids with colds are being asked to stay home from school. When your child has asthma, there is no such thing as "just a cold." On the other hand, as a working mother facing the prospect of staying home with a mildly sick kid (except for the asthma) for possibly as long as the next two weeks, this is totally uncool.

So, please listen: much as we love to see you, we don't want to see you with any sort of respiratory illness. We will happily postpone visits with you (even major holidays) if it means giving you a chance to recover. That way, you will enjoy our company more (because you are feeling better), and we will be able to keep our kids in school.

Thanks for your cooperation on this!