And It Begins...

The start of the school year is always hectic. The end of Summer Vacations brings a push to get everything done that hasn't been done. Then there's the excitement of starting school - meeting new friends, a new teacher... The entire family needs to adjust to new schedules. School, bus, piano, karate... Library Story Hours, Volunteer hours, meetings, Church is starting again, which means meetings are starting again, choir is starting again... All this without a kitchen, as ours is scheduled to be upgraded.

I have been anticipating all this for some time now. I have a calendar. I knew September was coming.

On Wednesday, after his first day of preschool, Andy complained of a headache. I chalked it up to over-excitement.

When I placed my hand on his arm and noticed it was warm, I was surprised he could get so heated from sitting on the porch and blowing bubbles.

I was wrong. And wrong.

The next morning he complained that "his mouth hurt."

And he had a temp of 100.1.

I took him in to the pediatrician.

When they swabbed the back of his throat, the swabs came away red with blood. The nurse looked at me sympathetically (apparently I looked worse than Andy at that moment) and told me it sometimes happened with really irritated throats.

The doctor said the test usually took 2 minutes to process, and five minutes to get a definite answer. Only Andy's test took about 20 seconds to turn bright purple (or some color) for a VERY positive Strep Throat Diagnosis.

And so Andy missed his second day of school, and we had our first sick day.

Please don't let the others get sick.

Please please please please please.