Humbled by H1N1...

Wow, was I stupid and prideful. I wanted to be the family who could say that none of us ever got the Swine Flu. I wouldn't have been obnoxious about it. I wouldn't have shoved it in people's faces. It would have been more like an internal joy and satisfaction thing, the pride staying deep, deep down inside myself. I thought if we did all the right things, tried not to touch any unclean surface, used perfect personal hygiene techniques and took all the healthy supplements out there, we'd dodge the influenza bullet...WRONG!

My orange haired, freckle-faced OS has the flu, most likely the H1N1 Piggy Flu. Poo. The symptoms began the day after his 13th birthday. We didn't make a cake for him on his birthday because we were waiting to celebrate with our extended family. Now the thought of cake, even the family favorite cake, Mint Chocolate Torte, reviles him.

It appears that someone gave our OS a most vicious birthday present. I didn't see it enter the house. It wasn't wrapped, there was no bow, I didn't see him even open it up. Nonetheless, some ruthless soul gave him a whammy.

This morning, while in the middle of a dramatic and very strange dream, snuggling next to the Hubs, all of the sudden, this strained, forlorn voice breaks into my slumber, kind of like those Emergency Service Announcements on tv which always scare me. "Mom, Dad, I'm feeling really sick," our newly crowned teenager groaned as he made a place for himself in our bed.

By 6am, the Hubs and I were at the grocery store buying orange juice, water, more hand sanitizer, anything we could get our hands on to get us through this trial. The one thing they were sold out? Masks and I'm not talking of the Halloween kind. Ike coughed brazenly in our bedroom and I told him, "Dude, you're gonna take out the whole family!" We shall see if I was prophesying the future. (I don't want to prophesy the future!)

We had been hoping to get together with the fam. The Gooey Guys and their sweet sister Rachel along with other important relatives were scheduled to stop by but those plans have been thwarted. No one wants to see us. It's like we are social pariahs or something. What have we ever done to those people??? Zheesh! Poo.

So here we sit cloistered in our home. Not sure if we all are doomed. Ike was typing on this very keyboard last night...Does that spell disaster??? I did go to sleep and wake up with a headache. Can I just say that my personal experiences with flu were horrible? I prayed for a swift and untimely death which sadly did not come to pass. I'm not trying to make light of flu, I really just wanted to be out of my misery.

Friends, stay tuned. This was a post I did not want to write but I have been humbled and now I must sanitize my entire house...especially this keyboard.