Don’t Make Plans if you Don’t Want to Catch It
It’s a hot topic among mom groups, co-workers with kids, and pretty much anyone with an immune system for the past three years. I asked my daughter’s daycare this very question last week, and I don’t want to leave you hanging; the answer was yes.
It’s always yes. Sometimes, it hits your household like a wrecking ball, bringing down even the healthiest and most resilient member. Other times, whatever ickiness is spreading around passes up your house like a distracted driver in the night.
If you are the latter, lucky you! You can go about your business – carefree to finish your daily tasks, fold that load of laundry, hit that impending deadline, happily wave your kids off to school. With nothing planned for that weekend, maybe you lounge around the house, order pizza for movie night, or get a head start on the week to come.
But if you are in the way of the wrecking ball, chances are you had plans: a much-anticipated, desperately needed night out, a babysitter lined up, and even a new outfit you’ve been psyching yourself up all week to wear.
Got plans? Then you will get cursed with the ick.
That’s just how it happens. The impeccable timing of one of the kids getting sick right before the occasional date night that you managed to finally pin down after multiple scheduling conflicts and actually finding a babysitter willing to work.
Make a plan during the height of virus season, and you can pretty much bet you’ll be home taking care of a whiney baby or, worse, a husband on his deathbed.
And when they are all on the mend, that nasty virus will turn its sights on you – vowing to take down the one who has wiped leaky noses, rubbed radiating backs, and slept sitting up with a never-ending coughing child.
The hostile virus takeover leaves you with no choice but to surrender to the sniffles and sneezes. Robbing you of yet another week, leaving emails unanswered, piles upon piles of laundry, and another inevitable cancellation of a rare girls’ night out you had been looking forward to since this time last year.
And then the FOMO
While you lay stuck at home, girls’ night out proceeds on as planned, without you. And the photos they post on the group thread send you into a FOMO spiral. Sure, there are lots of times you are secretly happy plans get canceled, but having to cancel against your will because your body has betrayed you just doesn’t seem fair. At this point, it’s like a cosmic force is conspiring against your attempts at a social life.
To all the fellow parents and plan-makers out there, whether you’re dodging viruses like a pro or bracing for impact, remember that these disruptions are just temporary blips on life’s radar.
Yet, amidst the fading pounding headache and stuffy nose, there’s a silver lining. Once the coughing has subsided and the brain fog has lifted, you have gained a newfound appreciation for your family’s overall health. These sick days are fleeting and only a couple of times a year. Sure, they may coincide with plans you are looking forward to, but those can be rescheduled. And even if you have to play catch up over the next few days, it reminds you how precious your health is.
