Forgotten Sleep

did not go to the market. This little piggy did, however, stay home. This little piggy has been diagnosed with H1N1 — yep, the swine flu.

No, it’s not me. I’m not the piggy. I’m the sow, I guess you could say. God, did I really just refer to myself that way?! No, the piggy is Big Girl. Her pediatrician officially diagnosed her as a victim of the pandemic this morning. Little Man, though, is still symptom free yet in the “window of possibility.”

It’s rather strange when the national news hits so close to home. I figured that if anyone in the family were going to get swine flu, it would have been me. I’m the one that comes to a large workplace every day. I come in contact with bunches of different people in several different situations — parking lot, bus, office, bathrooms, etc.

Surprisingly, the culprit behind Big Girl’s illness is not another child. It was her teacher. I will preface all of this by saying that I have great sympathy for and respect for people who are so dedicated to their jobs that they continue to push forward even when they don’t feel 100 percent. I am one of these people, so I get it. However, in a year with such increased fear and high worry about a new flu strain that has killed infants, children, healthy adults and the aged, staying home when you feel ill beyond the normal sniffles would probably have been a good idea. Instead, she worked herself completely down and did not stay home from school until she could barely stand up in the front office. That’s pushing it a little too far, especially when you work with small children.

So, Big Girl is home today with my mother, and my heart breaks for her. Not totally because she’s sick, but because of what she’s missing at school. Today was the big Halloween class party, the Halloween parade and the reverse trick-or-treat where staff give candy to the kids. It was also going to be the day she wore her Halloween costume. And, now, she can’t do any of it. Granted, she doesn’t know what she’s missing, but still. It makes me sad that she can’t be there to share in the fun.

I do take some solace, though, in knowing that she is likely on the back end of this sickness. Her fever dropped two degrees last night, and she already has much more energy than she did when she came home yesterday. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, she’ll be in top form again, ready to blast into school and learn everything that there is to know.

But, tonight, to make her feel better, I think I’ll read my little piggy The Three Little Pigs again — just for fun.