Where did it go?

It is AUGUST! How did that happen? I have no idea where this summer (or this year, for that matter) has gone. In two short months, it will be time for us to lock ourselves down in our house and pray for a winter of good health. Yup - I know some of you are shaking your heads already; thinking "she's insane - kids NEED germs to build up their immune systems." You probably don't have a medically fragile child. You probably don't need to worry that that "little cold or 24 hour stomach bug" could be fatal to your child. Flu and RSV season is rapidly approaching and I won't lie, it frightens me. We spent 3 months in the hospital last winter (and we know what a germ factory hospitals are). Yet, M managed to not even get a single cold all season. She got her first cold in April one week after starting daycare. She was sick again in May - thanks to daycare and she had pneumonia in July.....again....daycare. Currently she has more upper respiratory crap. Luckily, none of these infections have landed her in the hospital. Winter is a frightening time for parents with medically fragile children. Please, as the season looms near, remember those with children who may not be as strong as yours. Respect them and respect their wishes. WASH YOUR HANDS and don't roll your eyes if they come at you with a bottle of hand sanitizer. Please keep your children home when they are ill. Please, if you are ill or have been ill, or have been around someone who has been ill, postpone visits to loved ones who are at high risk. I'm hoping we survive the winter with few illnesses and, dare I say, zero trips to the hospital.



In other news, I'm happy (and scared to death) to report that next month I will be changing from full-time to fill-in status at work. This means that I will likely only work 8-16 hours per week. The kids will be at home either with a family member (hopefully) or a sitter when I'm at work. NO MORE DAYCARE!!!! I have NEVER not worked full-time. I'm frightened to give up all the benefits that my job offers. I'm frightened that I won't be a great SAHM. I'm frightened that Kevin is going to feel overwhelmed with the burden of being the primary breadwinner. Financially, it is going to be beyond tight. Yet, the thought of being with my kids, who are growing up waaay too fast, and being able to go to every appointment or every field trip and have time to enjoy them is so incredibly exciting to me. The thought of being able to be there for M, to work with her more, to give her every opportunity she deserves is such a gift. E will be at 4K from 8-11:15 Mon-Thurs. That gives M and I a nice amount of time for daily therapy. I'm so looking forward to spending un-rushed time with both of my children. I saw this posted on another blog and it really describes how I feel (sorry, Honey, I know you hate poems).

I Took His Hand and Followed

Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,
I didn't make the bed,
I took his hand and followed
Where his eager footsteps led.
Oh yes, we went adventuring,
My little son and I...
Exploring all the great outdoors
Beneath the summer sky
We waded in a crystal stream,
We wandered through a wood...
My kitchen wasn't swept today
But life was gay and good.
We found a cool, sun-dappled glade
And now my small son knows
How Mother Bunny hides her nest,
Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.
We watched a robin feed her young,
We climbed a sunlit hill...
Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,
We plucked a daffodil.
That my house was neglected,
That I didn't brush the stairs,
In twenty years, no one on earth
Will know, or even care.
But that I've helped my little boy
To noble manhood grow,
In twenty years, the whole wide world
May look and see and know.