In an attempt to kick-start some positive thinking, I challenged myself to come up with Ten Great Things about Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Hope to see my list on Buzzfeed soon!
1. It’s not really a disease. It’s a non-life-threatening illness.
2. There’s no bodily fluid to clean up.
3. It takes a few days to resolve, but when it’s gone it’s gone; no lingering cough, asthma, or sinusitis.
4. Kids really appreciate their food after not being able to eat for five days.
5. Adults don’t usually get it, or not nearly as bad as the kids do.
6. If your kid gets it during a week when he was supposed to go to two birthday parties, you save money because he can’t go to the birthday parties.
7. You also save money on groceries.
8. You feel absolutely no guilt about letting your child sit and watch tv or play video games because a) he hasn’t eaten anything but pain medicine in five days and is weak b) he had to miss school and two birthday parties and c) tongue blisters trump everything.
9. If your child misses school in the first two weeks of September, he might avoid any number of other illnesses making their way around the school, like the kind with the bodily fluid clean-up.
**The time between thinking up numbers 9 and 10 was spent doing yoga, showering, having a snack and cleaning the kitchen. Approximately one hour.**
10. In our particular case, the sublime ridiculousness of calling your child in sick for his first two hours of formal schooling, ever, and thinking about what a great story it will be, The Boy Who Started Kindergarten in October Because His Big Brother Kept Bringing Home Gross Viruses. (working title)
11. Bonus: Lots of sympathy from other parents, especially the one whose child infected yours. But you can’t feel too smug since her child is one of FOUR in the family and all four had it at the same time and wouldn’t that be like all the circles of hell swirled up into one giant, horrible Hell Smoothie?
12. Bonus two: At least I only have two children.
Three cheers for immunity! Hip hip (hooray!) Hip hip (hooray!) Hip hip (hooray!)
Ugh, gross, tongue blisters. UGH UGH UGH. Also – you did yoga, showered, had a snack AND cleaned the kitchen in one hour? That’s amazing.
Biggest win is …. once you have it, you never get it again!
I thought this too, but it’s sadly not true. We had it two years ago when Arlo started kindergarten (only closer to Halloween) and this time it was MUCH WORSE. Last time it was sore throats all ’round and I thought THAT was bad. One of the moms at school got it for the first time and has blisters all over her feet! Hopefully now we are done forever.
In the long run your first reason is the most perceptive and thankfully the most important. Congrats on surviving.