Happy Influenza Day!

When I was a young girl in school I was sick every valentine's day. I missed countless parties. I always made my box carefully, chose which valentine card went to which kid in my class, and took them all to school a few days before the big event knowing the party would be the best one ever. Then on the 14th I'd wake up with a fever and chills. No fail. One of my friends would stop by after school with all the valentine's I'd received and brag about the love fest that happened. I might have actually made it to a few parties throughout the years, but the valentine's days I remember were spent in bed sipping gatorade and eating popsicles. The worst was my senior year of high school. Our drill team held a fundraiser every year selling balloons and giant cookies. On valentine's day a few drill team girls and a few football team guys ran around dispersing the purchased goods and planting giant kisses on the cheeks of the recipients. I was once again home in bed missing the festivities. I seemed to get over this curse when I got married. I don't remember being sick in the last 12 years on this particular day. I am sad to say that I have, however, passed the curse on to my children. This is the 1st year Jack would be participating in an actual party with decorated boxes and a preschool class of friends to fill them with cards and candy. Except he started running a fever at 6 pm last night. This morning at 5:30 he was at 105. I have a connection at the hospital that got him in quickly to be swabbed for influenza, which came back positive for influenza A. Luckily that same connection was able to write a script for tamiflu. Don't know if it will help, but it's worth the effort. Poor Jack. He's asleep on the couch with a sippy cup full of gatorade and a belly full of popsicles. I hope it's a fluke this year and he isn't jinxed like I was. I want him to remember the holiday for the love it represents and not the fever & chills he's experiencing.