We've been dealing with a stomach flu at our house. Now, when I say "dealing" I just mean waiting the obligatory three weeks until I'm sure that every last person in the house who might throw up has done so and has ceased to do so. I know that sounds kind of obvious. But my kids get the stomach flu in a rather unique way. Eli's recent bout is a perfect case in point. Last Thursday, just as everyone was settling into bed, Eli started throwing up. He was up all night long, but by the next morning he seemed to have settled down and one would naturally expect that it had passed. No more puking for Eli (at least until the next round starts). But, dear reader, this is not what I thought. Because I know better. And sure enough, I was not disappointed... because indeed I would have been disappointed not to have held my child as he heaves up the contents of his stomach once more... yeah...
Anyway, on Saturday night after we'd come back from a fun-filled evening out with Nana and Tiffany, Eli threw up again. Now, this was 36 hours after the last time he'd thrown up. And while he hadn't shown any particular interest in food since Thursday, he certainly hadn't been acting sick. This pattern is so typical for my children. Throw up, wait 36-72 hours, throw up again. I've never heard of anything else like it. But, there you go. Now, why in heaven's name did I pick this for my topic today? There is actually an amusing story that I will get to now... wait for it...
Caleb came home from school yesterday, looking a little pale, and he said he didn't feel well. Since I was already at DefCon 3 with bucket duty, I gently suggested he lie down, and would he like me to bring him the bucket? It was precisely three minutes later that he made use of it. And for the rest of the afternoon I let him lie low. Despite no further evidence of stomach upset, Tom and I agreed that Caleb probably should stay home from school today. I assumed he'd probably sleep in anyway, and didn't plan to wake him. Indeed, I didn't see him downstairs before I left for class. But when he did appear (apparently he didn't sleep much longer than normal) he announced proudly that he was all ready for school. When Tom explained to him that we thought it was probably best if he didn't go today, the thunderclouds gathered in a hurry. Now, if any of you have been lucky enough to be subjected to one of Caleb's stink eyes, trust me when I say he's justly garnered his own bit of fame for his dirty looks. And according to Tom, he was in full form on this occasion. He fixed Tom with one of those looks and declared, "Don't even talk about that! I am going to school!" Which, as you can imagine, put an end to the discussion, and off he went I half anticipated to hear from the school all morning with news of an unhappy mess. But the school never called, and when I picked him up he seemed to be alright. I'm not fooled, though. The bucket is staying out.
Now if you had the choice, dear reader, would you stay home waiting to puke, or would you throw caution to the wind and live it up at school?
3 comments:
I just hope he hasn't exposed his fellow kindergarteners to their first public puking.
Caleb comes by his stink eye quite naturally. He is quite the character and I am glad he likes school.
oh I've done both... waiting by an empty bucket for the child to hurl, and sending a child to school and having them lose it in front of everyone. I'm a cool mom like that.
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