Back in school

Good thing I went back today- one of the other interpreters, P, was absent. She virtually never calls in sick, so she must really be sick. I feel bad for going in Monday and Tuesday now, because it was probably me that got her sick.

Or it could have been one of the kids- I never heard so much coughing and sniffling in September in my entire educational career! It's bizarre- my first period class had a test today, so it was really quiet, and all I heard was that gross sound of snuffling up snot because they didn't want to get up and get a tissue. Yech.

I feel SO much better than I did two days ago. Everyone around me is taking a long time to get over this thing. Based on the sound of most of their coughing, I bet they all have freaking bronchitis. Virtually none of them, student or staff, has gone to a doctor, too. "It's just a cold. I'd feel pretty stupid going to the doctor for just a cold." Whatever. Don't whine to me that you've been sick for two weeks and can't seem to shake this thing, then.

For once, having an immune deficiency is working in my favor- I went to a doctor a lot sooner than normal people seem inclined to do, and am much better much faster than they are!

Good news, though:

Frank at least tasted his cupcake at daycare yesterday! We brought in cupcakes to celebrate his birthday, and he picked one with chocolate icing. According to the teacher, he had icing on his face and the cupcake was thoroughly mangled. I am well pleased, even if he just licked it once and played with the rest of it, because he's never actually been interested in eating anything cake-like before.

I do NOT have swine flu.

However, I do have an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis.

I went to school today and did the assembly. I felt crummy when I woke up, but there have been times that's happened and I pushed myself and it went okay. Today, not so much. I left at 11:50am.

I took my first dose of the antibiotic at 3pm. I'm not really optimistic about having a good night tonight, which means I'll very likely be calling in sick tomorrow. DAMN, I HATE using sick days this early in the school year!!

At least it's not just me, though. Two of the math teachers and I were in the ladies' room at the same time this morning, and one, who's been teaching for many years, told me she's never seen so many staff go down for the count this early in the school year as she's seen this year. I mentioned this to my doctor, who replied, rather ominously, "Yeah, I'm noticing that, too. It's rather concerning."

Yeah, that's just what me and my weak immune system needed to hear.

I'm sick.

I have a cold. And I am scheduled to interpret an assembly tomorrow, a good one, one I actually like to interpret each year. *sigh* Think I can shake this in the next 12 hours? No? Yeah, me neither.

Good day

1. Frank did not cry when I left him this morning, for the first time since he started preschool. Yay! He did give me the boo-boo lip, but at the same time he was doing that, he was holding a book up to a teacher and asking her to read it to him. (Hooray for multitasking?)

2. He played with Play-doh today! He didn't just play with it- he really got into it, apparently. The teacher was so excited she came running up to me as soon as I walked in to pick him up today. She even took a piucture to show me- and he was smiling in the picture! This is news because, traditionally, Mr Sensory Processing will sort of touch the Play-doh, but he doesn't play with it, or knead it, or anything much. I can't wait to tell his OT tomorrow.

Friday night

Friday night I drove into NYC to go to a happy birthday get together at a pub for one of my oldest friends. One of the highlights of this for me was to finally meet her other half. They've been together for several months, but I am lame and don't really go out much, so the fact that I hadn't met him before is really my fault.

I am happy to report that I approve. ;) When I left, I told her so with the first words that popped into my head to describe what I felt when I saw them together: "You fit together like two puzzle pieces." He's a very nice guy and he makes my friend happy, and that makes me happy.

He could have better taste in baseball teams, though. ;)

In other news, Derek Jeter beat Lou Gehrig's record for most hits as a Yankee Friday night. I left the pub, which had the game on, ten minutes before it happened. My timing was, as always, impeccable. However, I heard it on the radio- I was out on the West Side Highway at that moment- and I had the foresight to tape the game, so Darrel and I could watch it together.

My boo-boo is somewhat better. It's less red, all around, less painful, and part of it, er, began draining in the shower today. *makes retching face*

This afternoon, I am going to an Irish festival in Sussex County. My mother in law will be coming to babysit Frank so I don't have to bring him. I really don't want to bring him because I've never been to this festival before, and I've no idea how loud it will be. I'm looking forward to it.

I have a boo-boo.

This is how I explain it to my son. In reality, it's a huge, disgusting, red, painful, infected bug bite. It started Monday, with a little redness. Now, I get about a thousand bug bites every summer, and several of them usually do get infected, so at first I didn't think too much about it. Tuesday it was somewhat swollen, and tender to the touch. I took note of this, and resolved to keep an eye on it. Wednesday, it was downright painful, and because it's basically right on my knee, my knee hurts, too! So, I thought okay, if it still hurts tomorrow, I'll call the doctor.

The pain woke me in the middle of the night last night. When I got up this morning, it was even bigger, and hard! Ouch. Needless to say, I called my doctor during my first free period today, and got an appointment after school. He took one look at it, probed it, and asked me if I'd been bitten recently. Now, as I said, I get bitten a lot during the summer, but I can't recall anything in particular there, and I told him so. Still, though, he thinks it's a bug bite, and put me on an antibiotic, which I picked up as soon as I'd picked up my son, and I took the first dose of as soon as I got home. He also told me to use warm compresses on it, two or three times a day.

The doctor also drew a line in pen around the outer areas of redness, and told me that if the redness extends much beyond that line, even after I'm on the antibiotic, to call him immediately.

I really hope it clears up quickly. Aside from being painful, I'm now, after his ominous warning, picturing this causing me to have to get my leg amputated!! Only me, right? Only me...


In better news, Derek Jeter is tied with Lou Gehrig for most hits as a Yankee. If the game tomorrow night goes as scheduled(it's supposed to rain in NYC a LOT tomorrow, into the evening), he should break the record tomorrow night. I'm going to record the game because I'm going to be in Manhattan tomorrow night, celebrating a birthday. :)

Party!

We held Frank's Family Birthday Party here Saturday. Overall, the day went pretty well- Frank napped well, and got up just when a lot of guests were supposed to arrive. He ran around playing with his cousins, everyone ate well, and was having fun. He didn't want to blow out the candle on his cake; when I asked him later he said the sining was too loud...which explained why he buried his face into my shoulder while it was going on. He had fun opening his presents, and got a lot of nice stuff.

However. Darrel has a friend from high school whom we invited, along with his wife and almost two-year-old daughter. The daughter was wandering around, with the wife fairly close behind her, and she wandered by the swinset, where my niece, who was on the swing, accidentally hit her and she fell down. Niece was barely swinging at that point, and didn't hit the girl very hard, and in my opinion, the girl, who hadn't napped that day, was more shocked/scared than hurt. Friend flipped out at his wife. I won't post specifics, but it was downright abusive. Wife's lack of shock makes me believe firmly that this was not the first time this has happened.

What was most shocking to me was who this was- this is a guy whom Darrel has known for twenty plus years, and I've known him somewhat for svereal years myself, and neighter one of us ever remotely thought he'd be like this. (Darrel missed the whole thing, and I think he thinks I might be blowing it a tad out of proportion.)

I am so upset about it, two days later, that I don't even want to go to the class reunion we are scheduled to go to with them next month, because I don't want to see this guy. And there's nothing I can do to help the situation, nothing at all.

School

I went back to work on Monday, for two days of orientation and workshops. The kids, thankfully, are coming in tomorrow for their first day. I'd rather have the kids there- I just do not have what it takes to be able to sit still and listen to other people talk all day!!

I got my schedule for this year, too. It looks pretty busy, which is good, and I have mostly pretty good classes for me...except for AP Chemistry! Anyone able to tutor me all year so I can sign somewhat coherently??

Frank cried when I left him yesterday, but did fine today. I think the cold he got over the weekend was really bothering him yesterday morning. He's been transitioning into the Preschool class, and he doesn't like it. They tell me he cries each day when he goes in there for a couple of hours. Once they can distract him with something, he's fine, but if he has any down time, he cries again. :( I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dropping off a sobbing child next Wednesday, his first full day in Preschool. I've been in the room, and introduced myself to the teachers, and explained his food issues. They seem pretty nice to me. It's a much bigger class than he's used to- his current Toddler class is 14 kids, and the Preschool class is, I think, 21 kids. I keep pointing out all the new toys he can play with in there, and look, they have real computers in there! They have a kitchen set he can play with!

It's times like this that I feel guilty, not because I work, but because I prefer to work instead of staying home all the time with my son. I mean, practically every mother I know is reluctant to come back to work, they loooooove staying home with their kids, etc. I liked being home with him this summer, more than before- he's older and mroe interactive, and we actually went out and did stuff this summer; all that will be even easier next summer, once he's not napping anymore. But I'm ready to go back to school. I like having the routine. I love what I do. Why do I love that more than being home with my kid all the time? I have no idea.