Hermits

I am on day six of not leaving the house. Well that's a lie. I left the house on Saturday night for 20 minutes. Just enough time for my swine flu filled kids to throw on a french poodle and kitty costume and ring the doorbell of their Grammie and Papa, carefully receive two kinds of every candy in the bowl without transferring germies, swing my Grandma and Grandpa's but not get out of the car as to not transfer germies and head home. That has been my only outing in six days. I have been caring for the sick and afflicted which after all is what Jesus told us to do in the first place so I keep telling myself to cut myself a break but I can't help but feel like a total slacker/loser/anti-social/nerd/hermit. All I seem to get done is tickle backs, and legs and rub heads and get sippie cups of juice/water, watch every princess movie ever made, administer the ever controversial tamiflu (anti-viral medication to kill the swine) and stick the Braun Thermoscan into the ears of my housemates. I feel like I have two infants again because they are sleeping with me and making all sorts of noises in the night from cries to strange laughter and talking about unicorns. (I think this is from fever) I have discovered that this sort of vigil keeping, Florence Nightingale work exhausts my mind and body. You wouldn't think it would be that hard. Case in point, I didn't have to get dressed. I didn't brush my hair or put on makeup. So what's with all the tired? I think it's stress from wondering how the swine flu coming to my house might or might not change our lives forever. After all, that's what they are saying about this bug. You just never know how each person will respond to this flu. So I have been on high alert (aka super neurotic) looking for signs of breathing problems and monitoring the fevers degree by degree. Is that cough getting lower in her chest? Do I hear a rattle? Her fever is 104 for the love of all that is good and holy, call an ambulance! These are the things I have been randomly yelling to Mike from our master bedroom where he is sleeping on the couch trying to survive not the swine flu, but me. No, he says, the cough is in her throat and is just post nasal drip, no you don't hear a rattle and if anyone needs an ambulance around here it's going to be me because my ears are squirting blood because they just can't listen to you anymore. These are the things he says to me. I think he can take that Hippocratic oath and just throw it out the door right now because I am pretty sure part of it goes "and I swear to validate my wife when she is freaking out because our kids have the swine flu and she just won't shut up".

So here are the facts of the case and they are undisputed. (name that movie) Katie got the H1N1 and started to show symptoms Tuesday morning. I took her to the doctor, they tested her with a nasal swab and it came back positive for H1N1. We got her on the antiviral medication right away. She had no fever as of Friday morning and has been her spunky funny self since. Mike and I already had this virus this summer so we got sort of low grade fevers but never truly got super sick. It was more like when your body is trying to fight something off. Stinging/burning eyes, tired and minor aches and pains. Jessica spiked a fever on Thursday. She had a deeper cough than Katie had so I was more worried about her. But we got her on the antivirals right away and she hasn't had a fever since Saturday afternoon. But just to be safe, I decided to not let them go back to school until Wednesday of this week. I want the other Moms in our class to know I take the safety of their kids seriously and wanted to give us four days of no fevers before they head back to school. I would want the other moms to do the same thing, know what I mean?

Halloween was spent giving out candy with the girls helping by holding the bowl at the bottom but not touching the candy. They got to dress up and thought it was so cool that the other kids knew to come to our house. They loved every time the doorbell rang. I think they had more fun this Halloween than they did in years past where they went trickortreating to all the houses.

Final Score: Meekers 4.....Swine Flu 0

post-script: My niece Gracie who is three months old got the H1N1 and is now fine after over a week of being really sick. My sister in law Heather, nephew Devon and brother in law Rick all have H1N1. As of today, Heather is feeling better and Devon is starting to feel better. Lots more people we know have H1N1, it seems like it's everywhere already. I think this flu season is going to be very bad for some families. We are still all going to get vaccinated against H1N1, I'm just saying. Not to be all politically n stuff...