Spots and Puffs and Bugs

The letter I have been dreading since September arrived last week. Jack found it first, and hid it from me for about an hour, until my incessant badgering finally made him cave. What you don't know makes you crazy, and when my guesses escalated from library closing to gun packing eighth grader, he surrendered. "There have been several confirmed cases of head lice at school. Please check your children's heads immediately".

Nothing moving on our little heads, thankfully.

Two weeks ago the kind teacher called, it seemed a group had gathered to inspect the large red spot on Kate's forehead. The consensus, ringworm, could I have that checked please? It was not, although my description to the nurse at the pediatrician's office, that it looked like someone had put out a cigar on my child's beautiful head, did require a visit in to see the doctor. Eczema, five year old dry skin masquerading as ringworm.

Last week it was pink eye. First Mary, then Kate and finally me, Jack escaping the puffy encrusted eye malady effortlessly, although he did appear at home one afternoon, achey and 102 degrees. Immediate quarantine ordered and a day later he had dropped below 100, considered well in my house.

We're back, to work, to school, to day to day. No funny spots, no puffy eyes, no bugs. Knock on wood and wrap them in plastic, we're healthy.