I would not consider myself a germ-a-phobe. I do think it is important for everyone to wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before handling food, but that seems reasonable, no? However, since school started this whole flu thing has finally gotten to me. I keep getting emails from the School District referring to the confirmed cases of Swine Flu and sickness in general and the updates to the hand washing policy (really, a policy on cleanliness?).
All of this panic has started me panicking! It feels like every conversation I hear includes someone asking if they have gotten their flu shot yet. I don;t think I have ever received a flu shot in my Life. My kids, on the other hand, get one every year. I was telling my woes to my neighbor that afternoon and we were commiserating about the idea of being sick so early in the "season". Lo and behold, I got a call from her the next day-"I'm sick. I feel terrible." To top things off I got a phone call saying that the woman I sat next to in Church on Sunday was very sick with H1N1 on Monday.
After frantic cleaning, sanitizing, hand washing, scrubbing and a hearty meal of vegetable soup to boost the immune system I was feeling much better about the world. Until this morning. David came in to say he was leaving for work. In my early morning grogginess I hear him say, "I am worried about Agnes. I think she has a fever."
So folks, here is my advice. Save your energy. Do not become frantic. Stop cleaning the house. Give the family chicken nuggets and mac n' cheese. If you don't remind your kids to wash their hands as soon as they get home from school it will be okay. All of the effort is not worth it. They will become sick no matter what you do. And then you can use all of that energy you would have wasted on preventing the flu to care for those that actually have the flu.
14 comments:
Is Agnes still sick? Did you take her to the doctor's? We have a two deaths in past month, both teenagers. Joan
Don't worry, Aunt Joan. I called the Doctor and her fever is low. I am supposed to check back in two days unless she gets markedly worse. She's mostly tired and cranky right now.
i'll be praying for you. my phoebe is sick too. yucky nose and hideous cough. sick kids are so sad!
glad that it's not all worth it. now i won't feel guilty for not doing it anyway.
Oh...my life has been flu infested for the last five kids. I think my kids are finally over it. Chris and I and all the kids have already been sick this month and this is round two. It has freaked me out a bit too but after a trip to the doctor yesterday with Ty, he helped me feel much better about everything.
You are right, there is no use worrying about it. If it's going to happen it will...I did get the flu mist yesterday though. I HAVE to be well to take care of my family. That was my first time getting the flu shot, ie. mist, and I liked the fact that it was painless. The rest of the family is going in on Saturday.
I hope Agnes is okay.
Hope Aggie feels better soon! So far day two has been much better . . . the fever is lower anyway.
i'm still in the purell plus lysol phase, so far we're still okay, but seriously. did you ever think it would be like this? we know SO many sick people. hate it.
I like this lesson.
I think I'll still wash my hands after using the restroom though.
I think it has more to do with your general constitution than anything. I am loathe to mention how seldom I get sick - not counting morning sickness - maybe I've used my my quota of illness on that!! - because maybe I will have to eat my words. But I'm around sneezing coughing kids all day - and don't seem to catch what they apparently have.
I do try to eat right - and take vitamins - but I haven't always done that. And I certainly don't get enough sleep or exercise.
So I think it's genetic!!
Although Bonny was the healthiest child I had and she does seem to get sick as an adult.
And I've never had a flu shot.
So I'm going to go knock on wood!
Yuck! I hope Agnes feels better! We have been sick for no less than two weeks. Eva got junk and then got it all over again on Thursday. Thankfully, Grace has bypassed it (but she's the only one). I hope you all stay well and Agnes gets better.
Amen! I have done this before with the whole - wash your hands, sanitize the house thing. Total waste of time and energy.
With kids comes germs and sickness, you name it. I guess I get tired of hearing people talk and talk about it. Get over it. There are other things to talk about, like . . . autumn, and Christmas, and the goodness of life!
I will admit to requesting hand washing after school. I've becosme a germaphobe as I've gotten older.
But you are right, going crazy is not worth it, if you get it, you get it.
I hope Agnes feels better soon. And that there is at least one healthy grownup in the house at all times!
SO true! We can go crazy washing, scrubbing and covering, but guess what? WE GET SICK ANYWAYS!! Sickness running rampant here. They sell the most ridiculous gadget at Costco for sanitizing everything in your house, it just feeds paranoia for "germaphobiacs". Hope everyone is soon feeling better your way!
oh i so agree! i feel i do everything to help boost my kids immune systems and they get something anyways. i will say it usually isn't as bad as it could be, but none the less, they get sick. even today, i noticed jack had a pinkish eye. ahhh! i just got him over a stuffy nose.
We had the swine flu. It was terrible, but far worse for me than for the kids! I thought I was going to die. In the end, I'm glad we've all had it now before it mutates and really starts killing everyone! But it's hard to start the sick season so early!
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