Sick Days

It’s weird to consider that the majority of my vacation days from now on will be for sick baby, baby doctor’s appointments, day care conflicts, etc. I’ve always been a fan of taking a Mental Health Day here or there; I wonder if I’ll feel free to do that anymore? Or if I’ll be too paranoid that I’ll run out of vacation time? Having no vacation time left when I came back from maternity leave really sucked ass.

My sister apparently called last night. I heard the phone ring while I was on the bike but Mr. b didn’t say anything so I figured it was just his work. But when I got to my sister’s place to drop off Kirk this morning, she asked if I got her message. The oldest, A1, isn’t feeling well. She was going to still go to school, but Sis wanted me warned, in case A1 was sent home. Then I get a call from Sis saying that A1 was complaining about a sore throat, so she didn’t go to school after all. So now Kirk is definitely exposed to whatever his cousin has that may or may not be strep. (They’re still waiting to hear back from the doctor. Both A1 and A2 were there for unrelated issues yesterday and he did take a look at her throat. Thankfully, A2’s ear infection isn’t contagious.)

I’m kind of torn about picking him up. I mean, if it turns out to be strep, I’m going. But if it’s just a cold, well, he’s already exposed to it. Going to get him early isn’t really going to lessen his chances of sharing germs. And chances are, I’ll be staying home with him one day later this week. So I should just wait, let him finish off his day, and refrain from using my paid time off. On the other hand, it’s snowing again, so traffic is going to suck going home tonight. Leaving early would avoid that. And who doesn’t like having random afternoons off?! I know Mr. b wants me to pick up Kirk. But that’s just standard Mr. b over-protectiveness. Hmmmm. What to do. What to do. I’ll probably just split the difference and leave early.