Sickies

You know that feeling you get when you're taking a sickie?

That guilty feeling.

Even when I was sick and took a sickie I'd always be thinking, "Am I sick enough?"

Well, guess what?

Now it's happening to me via my children.

My 5 year old boy feel off the playground fort at school on Wednesday at lunch time and put his tooth through his top lip.  It's only a small cut on the outside, bigger on the inside, and it's bruised and swollen.  Poor little darling was pretty upset.  But he's OK, it's getting better every day, and it could have been a lot worse.

So yesterday, Thursday, I kept him at home because it was still very swollen and it was difficult for him to eat.  Then during the course of the day he also started to get tummy pains and had a slight fever. And this morning he woke up and the first thing he said was, "I can't got to school today." When I asked why he said it was because it was too hard to eat with his lip still swollen.  He was very whingy and upset and then I touched his foot...warm...of course, sick = whingy with him.

Another day off??

I guess so.

When I was ringing the school to let them know I had that same feeling I used to get when I called in sick for myself.

After dosing him up with some children's Nurofen he seems absolutely fine now, running around and playing with his sister.

But he did have a fever and he does still have a sore and swollen lip. Why am I feeling guilty??

Maybe because he's now had 4 1/2 days off school in his first ever term.

This parenting gig doesn't get any easier, does it?



PS When I was 12 I fell off my bike face first onto a gravel road.  My nose, top lip and bottom lip on the inside were badly grazed.  I remember having a few days off school and then Mum made me go when I still had a scab just under my nose. The kids teased me and called me Hitler.  I guess that's made me a bit 'soft' about sending him with a disfigured face.