Flu Season and Daytime TV

Yes, it's that time of year.  You know, when one kid at school gets sick, and then the rest of them take turns getting sick.  Finally, your number is up and its your kid who is sick.  

Until this year Diva has been the model of health, but she woke up yesterday with a mysterious fever, which just isn't going away.  Today was day 2 of home from school, and she was begging to go back to school.  Seems there isn't enough entertainment here at home.  She gets a bit clingy when she's ill, so I sat with her for a couple of hours this afternoon and we watched a few programs on TV.  I rarely watch TV, so I'd like to share a few observations:

~ the prime choice today was Travel Channel's "Extreme Retail Locations"  Did you know that there is a store that sells yodeling pickles?  And the world's largest underwear at a rate of 2000 pairs/year?  And all kinds of bacon themed items (like gummy bacon and bacon band-aids) for your vegetarian friends?  How did I live 40 something years without shopping here? 

~ Just when you think a program is safe to watch with the kids, they show the extreme Las Vegas store that sells books on learning to pole dance.  Remember Diva loves to dance - so guess what book she wants?  How does one explain pole dancing to a ten year old?  

~ This summer I'm heading for Sharon, PA.  Don't know exactly where it is, but they have the world's largest candy store, and that's enough for me.  While there, I'll explore the world's largest outlet store, because I'll need some bigger clothes after my visit to the candy store.

Any good shopping in your neighborhood?

   

Back in the "Real" World

Now that I'm in school I'm actually required to get up, get dressed, and leave my house four days a week.  Over the past four years of mostly working from home, I forgot how good I had it.  

I just completed week 4 of classes, and Diva, who is fortunately (knock on wood here) a very healthy kid, came down with a flu bug on Thursday.  We Mom's know how this one starts:

(Weds. Night)  Diva:  Mom, my throat is scratchy

Me (hopefully):  Maybe you yelled too much at school today?

It invariably continues in a sleep-deprived fog around 4AM:

Diva:  Mom, I'm cold and I can't breathe good.  

Me (unintelligibly):  glubglobglib....  I think that means I'll get you a glass of water and some cough syrup.  

Me:  Oh drat, we don't have any kid's medicine in the house because Diva hasn't been sick in so long.

Then comes the 6AM arm-wrestling match:

Kilowatt:  Do you think she's really sick enough to stay home?  She's never sick.

Me:  What do you have going on at work today?  I have Philosophy class at 10 and Fraud class at 5:30.

Kilowatt:  Do you really think she's sick?

Me:  If I were still working from home, I'd keep her home.  Let me go get the thermometer.  (pause.)  Uh-oh, we're in 'no man's temperature land' 99.5.  That means the school won't officially consider her sick.  But I do since she never has a fever.  

Kilowatt:  I guess I can work from home today.

Me:  I'd better go hit the showers so I can come home between classes.  

Kilowatt:  I'm off to the 24 hour pharmacy to pick up drugs.  

Lucky for us, it appears to be a just a 24-48 hour bug.  I had Friday off so Diva stayed home both days, and is now eager to leave the house where she's been stuck for two days.  

So far, Kilowatt and I are okay.  Now I have to go drink my OJ!