Chickenpox

Let's discuss.

Do you remember when you were a kid? If you're friend had chickenpox and you had not yet had that pleasure, your parents were rushing you over to the chickenpox infected home. They WANTED you to get the chickenpox. Because the earlier you got them, the better.
When we were growing up, it wasn't a matter of if you would get them, it was a matter of when. So, let's just get it over with.

I went through about 12 years of my life thinking I wasn't going to get them. I had some immunity that other kids didn't. How lucky could I be. And hey, my mother never had them, so I wasn't too far off in this thinking. But, the week of July 4th, when I was 12 years old, I got them. And I got them bad. And my mom wouldn't take care of me because she didn't want them. They are deadly in older people, and the older you are when you get them, the worse they are. Which is why parents rushed their kids over to friends' houses to be infected.

Then around 12-15 years ago (I'm making that up, I have no idea how long ago), they came up with a vaccine for this horribly itchy, scar causing stuff. My daughter got the vaccine. And my son got it. And then sometime after that, the chickenpox vaccine people decided that another round was needed later on. Somehow my kids fell through the cracks on this second round.

So, my daughter gets this rash. I have no idea what it is, so I have DH take her to the Dr. this morning. He calls me back to say that daughter is being reported to the Health Department. WTF?!?!? All these thoughts are running through my head, what could it possibly be??

Chickenpox.

We're taking son to get his second dosage today. Too late for daughter. At 12 years old, just like her mother, she gets them. At least she doesn't have to miss out on the Fourth of July!!

And, she is quarantined. It's not like it used to be. She can't go anywhere. The school had to put up notices and send letters home to parents letting them know that their kids have been exposed to the horrible chickenpox.