Confessions of a Peace Lover...

Spring fever has hit our house! Our youngest has succumbed to the flu bug that seems to be making its way thru the school and community. I've been opening windows and washing door handles in an attempt to keep those germs away from the rest of the family. Everybody has been instructed to pump up on Vitamin C, wash their hands, and stay away from whatever it is that Clay is touching. Sharing is a great thing until it comes to germs!

And so it has come to pass that Clay had to miss his first day of school this year. He had been working on perfect attendance and was very disappointed that this bug was going to ruin his record. This was the first year that attendance became a big deal to him. In his first two years of school he would, and could, find most any excuse to stay home. This staying home was new to me as our daughters have all liked school and staying home with a "tummy ache" was something they never really tried to do.

Not Clay. His tummy, his head, or (my personal favorite) his eyes would often be in so much pain that he was sure school couldn't and shouldn't be a part of his day. The funny thing was about an hour after his sisters would leave he would almost always start feeling better. So we had to put a new rule into affect at our house: If you are too sick to go to school you need to spend the day in bed, resting. No television, movies, DS, computer, or other video type systems. Books are allowed (books are so nice and quiet) but if you're too sick to go to school then quiet rest is the order of the day.

Now don't get me wrong, if kids are obviously ill - fever, repeated visits to the bathroom, or recovering from surgery or another visible "you can't go to school" malady - I am all about keeping them comfortable and even entertained while they rest quietly on the couch. It's just when their "sickness" is a little harder to pinpoint that I have found the healing power of a boring day in bed to be quite miraculous!

At least it has worked at our house!

And so it was at the end of the day, a day that the reading on the thermometer made Clay stay home, that I had to laugh. His fever broke in the afternoon. He was definitely feeling better. And he was so surprised when I asked him if he wanted to play a game. He didn't realize he was allowed to have fun when he was home sick.

I think there's a life lesson in there somewhere and I promise you I'm going to be thinking on it over the next few days!

Until next time.

Beth