Man Down
No, I’m not referring to Rhianna’s controversial song. It’s been only two weeks since school began, and one of my pups has already gotten sick. My youngest son Arman’s allergies have been bothering him. He ended up with a fever and congestion, so I kept him home. He looked so cute wrapped up in his favorite blanket, sleeping on the couch. By 1:00 p.m., he woke up and was feeling better. He is trying to play it off like he is still ill, hoping that he’ll be able to spend another day at home. But there is no fooling mommy. When you’re up giggling at Tom & Jerry and asking for your favorite foods (McDonald’s and Sesame Chicken), you’re better. He’ll whine in the morning before he leaves, but off to school he will go.
Fortunately, my kids didn’t try to milk the sick days. They rarely got sick anyway, and they didn’t malinger because they wanted to be with their friends rather than be bored at home. Also, they knew if they left their bedroom or the couch to go up to the computer room / home office and start playing games, I considered them well enough to work on homework assignments.
My brother once had this string of days of severe stomachaches, so my mom finally dragged him to the doctor’s office, where he sheepishly admitted to the doctor he had been faking it so he could stay home and watch the Olympics.
Arman is my only stinker who tries to milk the sick days. He likes being at home, and he is a tad spoiled. He loves the extra attention.
Ah, yes. I remember those days. Trying to milk just one more sick day at home. My mom never went for it either, and neither will I when my boys try that stuff. To be a kid again, though. Staying at home seemed such a treat. As an adult, staying at home means you’ve got double the work and triple the headache when you get back to work!
You sure got that right about it being double the work and triple the headache. Even when I’m sick, I push myself, so that I don’t have to deal with the painful task of catching up on my responsibilities. It would be nice to be a kid again. Time travel, anyone!