Sniffling in Suburbia

I haven't posted for a couple of days because we're suffering from colds here in Suburbia. Swim Chick came down with the first symptoms on Saturday afternoon and was sporting swollen, teary eyes for all the Easter pictures. I first assumed that seasonal allergies were the culprit, but she began running fever Sunday evening, and both Soccer Boy and I were feeling bad by Monday. Tylenol Cold Complete is my new best friend. I can tell immediately when I reach the end of the four hour effectiveness period. Wait six hours to take another dose? Forget it.

Adventure Guy also fell to whatever virus is sweeping the house, so that leaves only Gym Girl feeling fine. She reported she ran the mile today at school in just a bit over 7 minutes, so she's evidently still in top form. I couldn't resist asking her how her time was in comparison to the rest of the class, not that I'm vicariously competitive or anything, and she reported she was the first girl to finish and that only a couple of the boys were faster. She really excels in individual athletics and has a great drive to succeed, something I'm sure will pay off for her in the long run.

I've been too busy lately at work to take time off to nurse my own cold, but I did turn in for the night yesterday before 9:00. I don't think I've had that much sleep in months, but it felt good. We're at the time in the school year where the end is in sight, but it's just not close enough. There are no more holidays to be had, and people are tense because of the upcoming state-mandated, high-stakes tests. Our schedule changes during this time, teachers have to do a variety of extra duties leading each of them to believe that she is working harder than anyone else, the guidance office personnel are stressed to their limits, and everyone looks to me to solve the inevitable problems that arise. On top of that, I'm working to develop next year's schedule, looking at hiring needs, selecting students to participate in the Chinese exchange program I'll be running next year, developing our campus improvement plan, and completing classified staff evaluations. And I did mention I'm doing all this with a stuffy head, right? On a brighter note, though, I got an unexpected bouquet of flowers at the office today. It was from the medical director of one of our local hospitals. He's recruiting a new doctor who has a son with special needs. I met with the family to go over our school's program, and they were pleased with what we had to offer. The flowers were certainly a nice "thank you" and made my day.

Since I was still feeling less than my best, though, I decided to give myself a bit of time off by coming on home this afternoon at a reasonable hour. I'm devoting my time to catching up with the blog and with my personal email, and then I'm going to do a little reading before I leave for an evening meeting. Think healing thoughts for us here in Suburbia. We need them!