Friday 3:30 p.m. I open the door to the kindergarten and the South Oklahoma wind blows white pieces of paper attached by tape to each of the lockers at my daughter's school. As I walk through the hallway to her classroom she just happens to walk out at the same time on her way to the water fountain. She smiled her normal greeting and runs to me,then sees her locker with this new piece of something on it and ran over to it. "Daddy, what's In-f-l-you-en-z-uh?" Her phonetic trial at the word mean nothing to her. "It says, hunny bear, 'Your child has been exposed to Influenza B.'"
I re-assure her that it doesn't mean much, my fingers on speed dial to her RN mother readily prepared to hit the send key if her teacher can't answer my questions. When I see the teacher I ask her about the paper on the locker. "You know, I looked it up on the internet and I couldn't find out much about it. One of the kids was exposed to it, so I wanted to warn the parents." Okay, thanks.
Some wise Oklahoman picked out the phrase, "If you don't like tha Oklahoma weather, wait a minute." It stuck. We have these up-and-downs in the temperature gauge that will give you a cold in the night and burn the flesh off you in the day. For example two days ago it was 7 degrees Fahrenheit windchill 'dammit its cold' (for you folks in Celsius country that's 'DAMMIT IT'S COLD' -2) and today it's been fair to middlin' (Again in Celsius country it's 'NOT SO BAD'-2). Everyone in the family has had runny noses, coughs and general yuckiness. My child has had them all, we invest in tissue each year.
Anyway, the weekend is fine, just lots of "NO! Blow out OUT on the kleenex!"
Come Monday morning I wake up the sleeping princess and her head is glowing. She is my sparkplug, but she really shoes how hot she is by my lips on her forehead. I veto moms recommendation to send her to school, and send them both back to get her pj's back on. I have appointments but my day is not so hectic that I can't handle a sick kid. After all, she's been sick all weekend, what could be worse than a sniffly, coughing 7 year old?