Yesterday was a workout day -- my last one for the year, as Robert (my trainer) is gone all next week on his vacation and I, of course, will be leaving next Friday for mine. I don't get a lot done on workout days, as my time is limited to the hours Megan is at school - and taking an hour out for the workout translates into two hours, when you account for travel time, showering, etc. But -- if not for Robert, I wouldn't be doing it at all, because I would justify not going so I could get more work done...
But I managed to whittle my To Do list down to just five items. Then, it ballooned back up again -- thanks to the realization that our PTA chapter will be audited while I'm out of the country. I found myself drafted to be the secretary this year. OK, I volunteered, but it was a last-resort kind of thing. The person who was supposed to be secretary ended up moving to another school and we needed someone badly. I stepped up to the plate, and although I bitch about it a lot, it actually is kind of satisfying to have a role of responsibility in the organization. If only it did not have a habit of imposing itself on my carefully- crafted schedule… Things keep popping up, and when they do, I am supposed to drop everything else and handle them.
So next week – just when all I want to do is focus on getting ready for our trip – we have a “General” meeting (for the entire membership) on Monday, an “Emergency Board” meeting on Wednesday (because everyone else has come to the realization no one is going to be around to write any checks while we’re on break), and a “Holiday Party” on Thursday (which I have already respectfully declined – but feel guilty about). And now, the added pressure of typing up the minutes for two meetings and doing a bunch of other paperwork with our Treasurer for this audit… I cannot tell you how happy this makes me.
But yesterday afternoon, it still seemed “do-able.” I arranged with Nancy to meet at her office to do the PTA paperwork, then I planned to blitz through the last of the Christmas shopping. This is enough of a challenge, as I’m limited to gifts that fit easily into a suitcase and TSA warns us not to wrap any of them – and I don’t want Megan to see what she is getting. I am also buying gifts for Nick’s little girls, stocking stuffers and other odds and ends… and must be sure not to exceed £145 (which equals $253.14 – today. It could be more tomorrow, but will probably be less as the dollar continues to slide against other currencies in the world). I’ve already spent $40 on a gift for Bev, my sister-in-law’s sister, who gave birth to her first baby last week.
I got to Megan’s school a few minutes before the bell rang. I ran into the room mother, who gave me the bad news: “Megan is sick. She feels very hot.” I thanked her and sent a quick text message to Gareth, who called me right back.
“What’s wrong with her? How does she look?”
Considering I had not seen her yet, I couldn’t answer that. One of her classmates saw me sitting on the bench outside the room. “Megan’s sick,” she yelled. I thanked her.
The bell rang and her teacher was at the door. “Megan isn’t feeling well,” she told me. I knew.
Then I saw my little girl. Her little nose was runny and she was crying. “I don’t want to be sick,” she wailed.
I tried to soothe her, but it wasn’t easy, as my hands were full of her backpack, lunchbox and a large school project she was taking home that day. When we reached the car, I noticed she didn’t have her jacket. I briefly thought about going back for it, but decided against it. She could use my jacket if she was cold.
“It’s OK, honey. Better for you to get sick now instead of next week. This way, you’ll be all better by the time we get on that plane for Britain.” But Gareth and I will probably be suffering, I thought. “You’ll feel a lot better once you have some Motrin,” I told her.
As we began the drive home, I started doing a mental inventory of what was in the fridge. We could use some sick food – juice, macaroni & cheese… and it wouldn’t hurt to get a supply of really potent vitamin C tablets. I pointed the car in the direction of a supermarket.
My mind flashed on a report I’d heard that morning on NPR, dealing with the current outbreak of flu. I had spent much of the week trying to locate anyone who would vaccinate us, with no luck. Even if we had gotten the shot this week, it wouldn’t have prevented Megan getting sick today. Besides, I didn’t think it was flu. The kids in her circle have all been out with a bug that has lasted about three days – that’s probably all this was. Still – the media is doing a good job of letting all of us know that this year’s flu is hitting especially hard and who could ignore the reports of otherwise healthy 7-year-olds dying from it? The NPR report said that symptoms could be greatly minimized with anti-viral drugs – but they had to be administered early in the infection. I called Gareth again.
“Are you anywhere near your computer? Could you get on the web and look up the symptoms of influenza?”
“Just take her to the doctor,” he said.
I’m not one of those moms who calls the pediatrician for every little thing, especially if her only symptoms are fever and a stuffy nose. If what she has is a bacterial infection (treatable with antibiotics), it will probably take a couple of days to show. Besides, her doctor is not on our PPO and each visit is expensive. But what if it is flu and we could nip it in the bud now? The guilt of not taking care of the flu shot back in September when her doctor suggested it was overwhelming. (I thought it would cost us less to do it at the supermarket when they had the shots… I had not counted on a supermarket strike that kept me out of the store while the vaccination program was occurring.)
I called the doctor’s office and explained the situation. “And we’re supposed to leave for Europe next week,” I concluded. I was told to bring her in.
Two hours later, we were finally home and I gave Megan her dose of Motrin. It did not appear to be flu (no cough or congestion in the lungs), and her rapid strep test was negative. I called Gareth and gave him a list of things to pick up at the market. By the time he got home, the medicine had kicked in and she seemed fine.
I decided to shift around the items on the ever-expanding list. I would spend the day paying bills and scheduling payments into the next six weeks. I’m glad we’re taking the computer with us and taking advantage of wi-fi availability in Cardiff. I’ll be able to monitor our bank balance – in dollars – from abroad, and will be able to do an emergency fund transfer if it gets too low.
But it’s tough to get anything done when Megan is home. When the Motrin has the fever in control, she feels pretty good and is not content to just sit in front of the TV. She wants Mommy to spend time with her, and that’s exactly what I want to do.
Tomorrow is another day…
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