An Omen, or What?

"OH-AH-AH-AH-AH! Get up, come on, get down with the sickness!"

From the first sound, this song will get you out of bed with your heart pounding, no matter how deeply you sleep. I use this song as my alarm. Little did I know that it would be my theme for the day. I got out of bed, shut off the alarm, and marveled that my husband, Mike, had not so much as twitched.

As I got ready for work, I heard Mike get up to start helping get the kids ready for school. He sat up and started coughing. Uh-oh. My husband seldom got sick, but when he would, it was a doozy. I thought back to the ring-tone I use for an alarm, and sighed.

Next, I heard my daughter whining as he woke her, saying that she did not feel good. At this point, I got the thermometer, and I walked to her room. I took her temperature, and it was 102.7, so it was obvious that she would be staying home that day. Before Mike could wake the boys, I cornered him and took his temperature. His was 101.9, so he would not be leaving the house that day, either.

I sneaked into the boys' room and checked their temperatures under their arms without waking them. My older son had a temperature of 100.5, and my younger son's was 102. I did not feel as if I were running fever or unwell, so I checked my own to make sure the thermometer was functioning correctly. It said 98.6, so I had to face it. They were all sick.

I called in to work, made all the other necessary calls, and put Mike and my daughter back to bed with Tylenol doses, and I put fluids nearby. I let my sons sleep in, since I saw no sense in waking them just to give them medicine. I would wait until they awoke. Again, I thought of my ring-tone, and I felt that I had jinxed us with the song.

I turned on the television, and I saw the reports that people all over were reporting fevers of a minimum of 100 degrees. It was reaching epidemic levels in our area. People were advised to stay in their homes. Local volunteers would be taking calls to bring any medications that were needed to people in the order of phone calls received.

Thankfully, I am a bit of a hoarder, so I keep a well-stocked cabinet of over-the-counter medications for such situations. When my sons awoke, I took their temperatures again, and they had risen. I gave them their doses, and I put them in a tepid bath to sooth their fevers. When I had them comfortably ensconced in their beds with the television moved to their room for entertainment, they dropped right back to sleep. Again, I thought of my ring-tone.

I roused my daughter to make her take some fluids, a dose of ibuprofen and a tepid bath, since her temperature had not reduced with the Tylenol. I then did the same for my husband. For hours and hours, I did this. Toward evening, the symptoms in all of my family had started to improve, as long as I was vigilant.

During the night, I began to feel the tell-tale signs that I was beginning to run fever. My skin was ultra-sensitive, and I felt crummy. I thought again of my ring-tone. I decided to change it. "Down With the Sickness" had been a little too true for me. I have changed it to "It's Peanut Butter Jelly Time!" It's just as loud, and just as likely to get me out of bed to shut it off, but it's better than being "down with the sickness."

Songs by:
"Down With the Sickness." by Disturbed. Album: The Sickness
"Peanut Butter Jelly Time" by the Buckwheat Boyz. Album: The Buckwheat Boyz.