It Should Be Called "Petrie Dish," Not Preschool

I am on cold #3 since December.

They bring them home and despite all my handwashing, I get them.

But somehow, they get over them faster than I do.

This time, I didn't even have a chance to get rid of cold #2, which was kinda sorta on the wane, when cold #3 took up residence in my sinsuses.

By some miracle, Late Blooming Dad has escaped them all. Maybe it's because I tend to be the one wiping their noses with Kleenex. Or maybe he just has a better immune system. All I know is, I am ready for cold season to be done ... and hoping that the rest of Year 2 of preschool is less of a human lab experiment in just how many things a mom can catch from her kids than it has been so far.

Despite the recession, I clearly should have bought stock in the makers of pediatric Robitussin and Benadryl.
The kids have sucked this stuff down nightly and sometimes daily. As for my own medicine cabinet, I've partaken of Mucinex, Afrin Menthol Saline Spray, Pseudophed (which has to be purchased at the counter in small quantities, thanks to all the meth addicts out there), and Advil for the pain that makes my teeth hurt because my sinuses are so swollen. I can't say any of them brought more than brief relief.

The thing is, moms should get a pass on getting sick, because when moms get sick, the whole house is thrown off. Late Blooming Dad has been stellar, showing up at home twice now with deli-made Matzoh Balls and soup, and doing extra runs to and from preschool so mom can pass out after work. But it's still been a strain. Thing 2 missed two days of school, during which mom attempted to work, and the lesson I keep refusing to learn is that working while you have a sick kid at home only leads to more stress and, in my case, the inability to shake my own sickness.
Of course, I'd have hardly been able to rest while taking care of Thing 2. But working with a sick kid at home, no matter how much you try to rely on the magic babysitter known as TV, is still a challenge.

Today I am horizontal and about to nap again, having finally forsaken work for an official sick day. It looks beautiful outside, but alas, I am too whupped to enjoy it. It's time for me to make like my cat -- who is curled up and snoozing away in a warm spot -- and hope that a day completely off the clock, while the kids are actually well enough to be in school, will help speed my cure. Meantime, here's hoping they don't pick up any new germs today.