It won't be the first time and it sure as heck won't be the last. I kept my daughter home from preschool today over the swine flu situation taking place in neighboring Guadalupe County where an entire school district has been shut down for a week. Did I really think that if I sent my daughter to school today that she'd catch this frightening illness? No. But the situation is still evolving and to me it doesn't seem like we have all the information yet. The facts released by the CDC seem to change by the hour. Will this turn into a pandemic? I wanted more time to see how this thing's going to play out before I send her into what is, on a good day, a hot zone of viruses and bacteria (C'mon! It's PRESCHOOL. You know every surface there is swarming with viruses and bacteria galore.). And I also kept her home because, I reasoned, preschool is optional. If she was already attending public school I may have made a different choice. Those were all of my justifications, at least.
Still, I spent the day wondering if I'd made the right decision or if I'd made my decision based on the germaphobic fear that is currently gripping my heart (Yes, we've firmly established that I have a problem: Hi, I'm Colleen and I'm a germaphobe.). I finally realized that my daughter wasn't hurt in any way by staying home. She got to play with me and her brother and visit with her aunt and cousin (something she absolutely loves to do). So no harm, no foul (and please, no fowl and no swine thankyouverymuch!).
Because she doesn't attend preschool on Tuesdays I won't have to make this decision again tomorrow. But what will Wednesday bring? I don't know how I'll approach making the decision then. I guess I'll base it on what we know (or think we know) at the time. And while I fully realize that there are people out there, even parents, who think I'm crazy for not sending my daughter to school, I have to believe that as parents, when it's all said and done, we're really on the same side - the side where all we want is what's best for our kids. For me, for now, what's best is keeping my daughter home with me.
[photo credit: SXC]
If I were home, my son wouldn't be going to school either. You are not alone.
Posted by: MamaChristy | April 28, 2009 at 10:00 AM