Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A sick child bonus day

I11 is home sick from school.  He came home last night and fell asleep on the couch before dinner.  That should have been a huge red flag.  He had a temp last night, is complaining of a sore throat and looks pale and washed out. His throat doesn't look so bad that I'm worried about strep  but we let him stay home from school today.  We have let him stay home by himself for a few hours in the past but considering how burnt out I am with my job right now (last week's complaints still stand along with new comments from administration that our 'productivity' doesn't support either more staff or our request to reduce services on weekends) I quickly volunteered to stay home with him.  It also makes financial sense for me to be the one staying home.  I have paid time off- with V still being an hourly temp- if he doesn't work, he doesn't get paid.  
So, I have had a bonus day. I11 is sacked out on the couch under a mountain of blankets, occasionally sipping hot chocolate, watching a movie.  I have gotten 3 loads of laundry washed and hung on the lines so far and have plans to patch some pants and our comforter (Dog claws can be destructive!!!) Maybe I'll even take some more time to work on my knitting quest.  I almost have the hang of casting on but am determined to not give up!  It's cold outside but finally sunny so I'm also going to try to finally empty the rain barrel before it's too late.  
Like I said, a bonus day for catching up on things.  I11 isn't so sick that he needs me around constantly to tend him so I can actually get things done.  

But a question for folks out there: How old do you think children should be before you leave them home sick alone?  
We've had this debate for a while.  The other consideration is that I11 has ADD (inattentive) for which he takes meds on school days.  That is something I didn't really want to resort to but which has helped him tremendously. But he doesn't take meds if he's not going to school (they affect his appetite and he is too skinny as it is) so having him home alone not necessarily paying attention to what is going on around him can be nerve wracking.

I did take some time to look at real estate adds this morning.  Found another possibility, one that has been advertised for a while- an old 1915 arts and crafts style.  It's a little farther away than we would like and it's out of the school district but it is on 5 acres with the option of wood heat. And a selling point of a fireplace in the master bedroom! Vavoom!!

2 comments:

  1. I remember when I was a kid Mom left us alone when we were pretty small.
    I don't think that 11 is too young but on the other hand if you have the paid time off and enjoy the time at home, I am sure he likes having you around.

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  2. Oh I hope he's on the mend. Our daughter is almost 9 (2 weeks to go) and I'll leave her home for a couple hours by herself. We are hoping by the time she is 11 and her brother is 8 we can leave them home in the summers while we both work so we aren't paying for a babysitter. We'll see if they quit fighting by then:)

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