Another Day, Another Sick Child

My son was at school. My daughter was in the middle of her nap. I was enjoying some rare quiet time and doing some writing. That’s when I received the phone call from my son’s school. It was the nurse informing me he had a fever and I needed to come get him.

This came out of nowhere, much like illness itself in a child. I quickly woke my daughter and put her in the car, driving to the school. When I got there, my toddler was sitting on the bench, wearing his coat and holding his backpack. He walked over to me and started crying, hugging me tightly.

I’m sure he was frightened being away from home and feeling so awful. I am glad I was able to drop everything and get to him as quickly as I could. I was available to take him to the doctor the next day, and just hold and comfort him as much as possible.

This is exactly why I chose to leave my job and stay at home with my kids: I want to be there for these moments when they need me. Like my financial advisor said when I informed him of our decision to be a one-income family for now, “Is it nice to have more money? Yes. But there are more important things.”

I can think of at least two.

My son was fever free and back to school quickly, but, as it typically goes, my daughter came down with the same virus the next day.

Yes, germs are the one thing kids have no problem sharing.