Pandora

There is only one thing worse than opening Pandora's box. That is opening her underwear closet instead.

Last thursday, a routine mission to pick up the little one from school turned eventful. There were TV crews outside the school and a dude thrust a mic in front of my face and said "Sir, what is your reaction to what is happening here?" and my response was "What IS happening here? I don't know" and walked in to the classroom.

The teacher tells me that the school is closed by the County because there is a probable case of swine flu in the school. Apparently some sick kid attended school on Mon/Tues and did not show up for school Wed/thursday and the school was going to close till May 11th!

Most of the parents were frustrated more than concerned by the school closure. They were all just hoping that their kids (who looked fine) would stay symptomless for another couple of days and then things were fine. Some parents told me that chances were, if our kid was infected she would be showing some symptoms already!

The little one jumped on me and kissed me all over my face. She gave it the extra saliva for the special occasion. That meant, if anyone was going to be quarantined with her, it would be me.

So we showered with extra care, waddled in germ killing lotions and stayed put indoors for hte most part over the weekend. No symptoms from anyone. That meant the family was safe but there was still no school.

Finally last night they figured out that if they request sick kids be kept at home, they can open the school. Now we are all back to our regular routine.

The headlines today?

"The responsibility is now on the parents who have to make sure they keep their kids at home for at least 7 days if the kid has a fever of 100 or above"

The responsibility was ALWAYS on the parents, irrespective of school being open or closed. It puts an even greater burden on more parents if the school is closed!

The little one is finally happy. To have a three year old ask you if "we are all going to die because of swine flu?" is very very difficult to handle.

Shouldn't kids be spared the panic?

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You are "it", with a piggy twist

Last night we got together with the cousins. We decided to avoid crowded public places and watched a movie at home instead.

Most of the conversation was centered around the flu.

While the adults are seriously worrying about the flu, the kids, safety etc, the kids are apparently playing a game called "swine flu"

One kid is supposed to be "it" and they go chasing all the other kids. When they manage to touch another kid they say "you have the swine flu now!" and now both the kids go tackle the rest..

Interesting perspective from a kid standpoint!

Hopefully it teaches them subconsciously that the more people who have the flu, it is easier for the rest to get it. Then again, these are kids playing "swine flu" without knowing what it really is.

Now don't get me started on the great job the media is doing on this topic. Have lost whatever little respect there was for the few in the media.. (most of it was already lost after they held people accountable and did great investigative reporting during the WMD issue)!

Sad. Very sad.

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And the swine?

It flew!

To lands far and away!

Somehow when I hear Jr. say "swine flew" with her accent, it brings to mind "Pigs have wings" and Pink Floyd!

It is not a good idea to close businesses, restaurants, schools etc. in the name of "suspected cases of flu" without confirmation! Bad for the economy. Bad for morale of the people who are already working hard.

Worse, it is bad for the kids!

They are already facing the brunt of it, with seeing their parents tense and working all the time, with budgets mentioned to 3 year olds and responsible talk being thrust in their faces every day! They really don't need the fear and panic.

Let's hope that this thing blows over soon.

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