Breaking Protocol

I hate it, HATE it, when moms take their kids somewhere when they know they are sick. I have had my own personal rants when I discover my kid has been exposed to one illness or another when a parent has used poor judgement by bringing their sick children to an event that my kids attended. So you can imagine my chagrin, when yesterday my youngest started feeling puny.  She laid on the couch. She whined.  She wanted to nap. All of these were illness warning signs, and I wanted to ignore them.  Why?  Because this week is Vacation Bible School week.  This is an event that my kids have looked forward to for an entire year.  The last two weeks they have eagerly anticipated VBS, and even better, their BFF's were attending with them!  Trying to think positive, I refused to take her temperature for fear of discovering a fever.  She had chills. I felt her head.  That was about all I was willing to commit to doing. She felt a bit warm, but not definitively feverish, right?

All evening I argued back and forth with myself.  To take her temperature, to not take it. What if she had a fever?  I couldn't take her.to VBS if I KNEW she had a fever.  I adhere strictly to the 24 hours of being fever free or else your child is contagious rule. But I felt guilty.  Even though I didn't exactly KNOW, I knew. Finally I took her temperature, and sure enough, a fever was confirmed.  I broke the news, no VBS. Tears, begging, remorse all came from my little peanut, but I stood firm. Yet, I kept rationalizing in my mind, maybe, if she is better in the morning I could take her.  No one would know. Furthermore, she had just spent three hours with the kids in her crew that day. Hadn't she already exposed them to whatever she was fighting? Did it really matter? Yes, it mattered.. I couldn't. I just wouldn't cave. I remained resolute.

This morning, of she was fine. In a way, this stunk even more than if she had been feverish and puny. She asked, "Mommy, please can't I go to VBS?" I shook my head sadly, and promised we would do something fun after I dropped off her sister at VBS. I pulled under the portico at the church, and told her I would be back in a minute, as I walked in my eldest.  I got 10 feet into the church, and people started asking me where my youngest child was.  I explained the situation, and said that she and I would just spend the day together. One of the workers running the program said, "Oh, just bring her in.  She will be fine."  I declined.  I would be so annoyed, if someone else did that, so I wasn't going to do it. The director of the program then heard, "She can come, it isn't a big deal." Now I was crumbling.  I rationalized that two of the kids in my daughter's VBS small group were my friends' children, and both of those moms were okay with her being there. "Well, maybe,." I said. And then I did it. I broke protocol,  I went against every one of my instincts and let her go to VBS, She was ecstatic.  And frankly, so was I. I look forward to VBS, just because as a homeschooling mom, I rarely get large chunks of "me time" for several days in a row. Generally, I don't complain about this, because my husband and I have chosen the homeschooling path, and I don't feel like I can justify complaining about not having "me time".  Therefore, I look forward to VBS week as much as my kids. It is a once a year vacation for all of us!

When I arrived back at the church, I was a bit trepidatious.  I didn't want to hear that she had relapsed and was feverish.  I checked my cell phone to make sure I hadn't missed a call. Not seeing any, I burst forth into the Welcome Center of the church feeling slightly more confident.  Until I saw two guys donning rubber gloves and carrying a trash can at a rapid pace. "What happened?" I asked, slightly alarmed.  "Some kid threw up." Ruh roh. Before, I could dive too far into my guilt, the informant said, "Don't worry it wasn't yours.  I asked to make sure since I gave you permission to leave her. Your daughter was fine."  Sweet relief! Now if we can just make it through the week without any other kids evidencing a fever we will be golden!