In the wee small hours of the morning....

Gonna vent. Will write good stuff in a couple days, I promise, but for now, gonna vent.

A couple of weeks ago, M had the wonderful opportunity to go to a picnic with my Mom. He came back exhausted and hot, but happy. There had been lots of fun games, lots of prizes and the kind of food that makes 5 year olds smile: pizza and Kentucky Duck. He'd had a grand time.

Later that evening, though, we discovered that M's forehead was as hot as Hades. You coulda roasted marshmallows over that sucker, poor kid. My first thought was that Mom had let M dehydrate. Easy to do with an ecstatic 5 year old... but no, Mom kept him covered, hydrated and healthy. What we found out the following day was that M had a wicked case of Strep Throat.

Into sick-mode goes the entire house. No sleep, lots of liquids, regular Tempra at regular intervals and washing hands constantly.

Nothing we can't handle. Sick happens, nu?

J and I are very familiar with this routine and made sure we were careful about our health. Not only because we just didn't want to be sick, but also because we were heading to a cottage that my parent's had rented in Coboconk for 4 days the following Wednesday. Coboconk is quaint and charming. Known for the local diner called The Patty House: World famous in Coboconk! as the sign proclaims. Also known for having Ontario's smallest jail, still... not a place you can find good emergency services.

You see what's coming?

On the drive up to the cottage, no less, J starts to get a fever. A bad one. His breathing is noticeably more rapid. I had taken the precaution of getting a script from a Medvisit Doctor in case I came down with Strep... so... perfect. We stop in Brooklyn, Ontario and try to fill it. Turns out, the @#&%$!!! Medvisit Doctor has prescribed something for me to which I'm allergic. In spite of my repeating manifold times what my allergies were!!! So. This lovely small town pharmacist is taking her time explaining to me how dangerous this potentially is and how unsure she is as to whether to fill the script. I can't tell her the medication will be used for someone else... then she won't fill it at all. Like a drug addict, I'm tapping my toes impatiently trying to convince her that I'll take the risk... just fill the damn thing!! I gotta sick man in the car, honey, and two more hours of driving ahead of us before I can get him into a bed... hurry the fuck up!

Poor, sweet J spent pretty much the entire time at the cottage in bed.

Plus, the antibiotic didn't work because, as it turned out, he didn't have Strep... he had Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. Where that came from , who knows. It was something we discovered days after our return to the city. Something that is also very contagious for the entire time it is present in it's victim.

This household has been disease free for 1 day now but I'm still washing my hands like Lady Macbeth.

And now, summer is officially over and M begins school in 2 days so life gets...more hectic???

Oy.