Skip to main content

quarentine

Owen has about a dozen dots on his face. This time not from the __________ he grabbed off the counter and rubbed all over it ( fill in the blank w/ any of the following: lipstick, gluestick, marker, pen, chapstick). Earlier in the week, I picked him up and checked his cubby for old sippy cups, half colored artwork and the infamous daily report. Instead was a very official looking note stating someone at the school had been diagnosed with chickenpox. I ignored it. Owen has had the vaccine and I think even the booster. The school is big -- what is the liklihood that O has even been in contact w/ this germy kid. The sheet sat in his cubby for a few days until I finally transferred it to the floorboard of my car. Then Friday, I went to pick up O and noticed a few pink dots on his face. Suddenly that worksheet flashed in my head. I questioned the teacher ( his usual one had already gone home). She said she had already asked someone and they didn't think it was chicken pox. I told her they hadn't been there in the morning and suddenly we looked harder. We found a few more on his arms and legs. More seemed to keep appearing as I searched. I asked a few more questions ( maybe ones I should have asked on Tuesday) and learned that the culprit was actually in Owen's class and she too had had the vaccine. Then we found the director to ask what they looked like when the first showed up and no surprise...they looked just like Owen's. We called the dr on the way home -- she just said to give him tylonal and keep him away from other kids. Owen didn't seem phased. No fever. Big appitite and tons of energy. By the time Shaun got home I started questioning if it was even chicken pox. We took him first thing in the morning to Care Now ( the dots seemed lighter) and paid 35$ for her to confirm that it was indeed chicken pox. Apparently the vaccine is only about 82% effective -- and then it makes for a milder case. A mild case sadly does not mean shorter case. He is supposed to be quarentined for 7 days. So the pumpkin patch and boo bash were out. Me and Shaun divyed up who would stay home what days ( doesn't help that he will be in Colorodo most of the week!).
Day 5 of the pox and Owen is climbing the walls. Literally. I have pulled all my tricks. Bought a few new toys. Made a fort in the living room. Watched more than our share of cartoons. It is icky outstide, which makes playing out side not such a good option. When we do make it outside he can hear the neighbors playing and gets so sad that he can't join them. I am feeling a bit couped up myself but no that it is temporary and am enjoying my couch time. He is destroying each room faster than I can pick it up. He managed to knock over a dresser 3x the size of him, rewire the tv and learned a cool new trick. Move a kitchen chair to any place in the house with something he can't reach and tada...Owen with cookies, Owen with a sharpie.
I have an official letter from the doctor saying he can go back to school on Thursday.... and I can't wait. Don't get me wrong I love him. I loved my summer of playing with him. But the last 5 days have been miserable. He needs out. He needs other kids. And mommy needs a break. It is a screaming reminder that we were not meant to live in isolation. We can't thrive without community. Our body craves it.......even for a slightly introverted 2 year old. We get into trouble without. Owen needs people his size to watch and play with and race. Later he will need the same relationships to experience life with. It is no fun alone couped up behind walls. The walls of your house or even just the ones of your heart.

Comments

onevoice said…
Hang in there...this too shall pass. :)

Popular posts from this blog

multiple choice

As I write I am procturing a test ( yes on a Saturday, and no I am not getting paid for it.) The room is silent. The only noises I hear are pencils scratching on papers and pages turning. If I listen closely enough I swear I can hear their brains turning. I have always been a good test-taker. I would still regularly brag about my SAT scores if it wre socially appropriate to do so(or an actual indicator of anything meaningful). There is something comforting about multiple choice. (well as long as you don't have the crappy all of the above or none of the above choices...just the classic A, B, C, D variety). There are parameters. Multiple choice means you have options. The right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. Even if you don't actually know which one the right answer is there are usually clues, it can be narrowed down or worked backwards. Even a blind guess is likely to be right 25% of the time. These aren't bad odds. All you have t...

Turning the question

My school has been sending me to some inquiry training. The “i” word has been thrown around since my education classes in college. It is one of those things that is really good as a concept but kind of hard to pull off in the classroom well. For lots of reasons. But the big one number is because teachers are reluctant to let go of the control. To let the kids loose with a concept and see where they end up. Let them discover, own it and share out all on their own. Without intervening. Then push them a little bit further and clear up any misconceptions that they are holding onto before they slip out your door. This is supposed to be the most meaningful way for a kid to learn. For them to discover rather than memorize. One of the other problems with inquiry and science is that kids have stopped learning how to ask questions. My son bombards me with whys all day long. Why are owls nocturnal? (which comes out a lot more like “not-turtles”) Why do I have to take a shower? Why ...

Meet the teacher

People keep asking me how I am or if I am going to cry. And few weeks ago, I kept saying no. I mean, I am used to dropping Owen off everyday at school. Or I’m at least used to Shaun dropping him off. I am used to school. I do it everyday. But. The first day is Monday. His and mine. And I am not ready. And I don’t just mean that my syllabus isn’t copied and that there are boxes all over my room. That would be true. But I am having doubts about my kid entering this world. The kind with lockers and buliten boards and hall passes. And tests. A world where from now on, he will be receiving a grade. Where he will be compared, judged, scolded, and ranked. We met his teacher the other night. Turns out I taught her son not too many years ago. Owen was off playing within seconds with a friend from his soccer team. Tearing the room apart. Ecstatic when he saw a big tub of legos. He will be just fine. But I wasn't so sure about me. I was suddenly filled with questions. The basic ones. Like how...