So here we are, at day 4 of chickenpox. The day that People On The Internet said was the absolute worst day of chickenpox, and to be dreaded at all costs. What happened? I went to work, and left a remarkably perky small boy eating toast in my bed, while trying to persuade his rather tired father to play games with a giant cuddly squid. And when I got home, I found an even perkier small boy, and and even more tired husband. A small boy who had needed no calpol, no piriton, no virusoothe, no calamine all day. A small boy who had developed no new spots all day. A small boy who showed every sign of being more-or-less better.
This morning, LittleBear woke up after half past seven* after having slept soundly all night without a whimper.
This evening, LittleBear went to bed with no drugs, no lotions, potions, liniments or creams, and we haven't (two hours in and counting) heard anything from him.
Tomorrow, on the grounds of some vaguely suspicious spots that may or may not have a crust on them, he will stay home again. I don't want to be That Parent, who sends their infectious child back to school, and while I'm 95% certain the vaguely suspicious spots are dry and not wet, I don't think an extra day to be certain will be a bad thing.
So, once again, all my doom and gloom has been proved groundless. Once again, I should know better than to read about other people's children on the internet**. Once again, I should just accept that sometimes what will be, will be, and I should just roll with it. Once again, getting myself wound up to a fever-pitch of anxiety serves no useful function whatsoever. But if I became relaxed and able to handle minor bumps in the road of life without assuming that the suspension of my mind has broken and all the wheels of my life have fallen off, I'd have nothing left to write about, and you'd all be very disappointed. I'm just doing it for you.
* For those souls who either don't have children, or who have forgotten, this is essentially a miracle.
** You would have thought that I would have learnt my lesson from discovering that books about child-rearing were deeply unhelpful, or that parenting articles frequently piss me off. But apparently I can't be taught.
I am trying to comment! Sorry, my tablet won't let me and... anyhow. I am glad your boy is better! Since he hates syrups (so do mine), let me also mention that my very own six-year-old weighs 50 pounds, so can take a half-tablet of tylenol, and can swallow small pills broken up into some pieces. May the next fever be less painful!
ReplyDelete(Mercifully, the chickenpox vaccine is routinely given here - twice, even! - and so nobody has to think about it. Less mercifully, it seems that adults like you and me thereby become less immune to chickenpox and more susceptible to shingles, when not re-exposed to chickenpox. Bah.)