Flu Bug

November 24, 2015

Flu Bug

To flu shot, or not to flu shot - that is the question.

It seems like anyone you ask has an opinion on flu shots. You have the diehards that make sure they get their vaccine as soon as it becomes available each season. Then you have the naysayers who refuse to get the annual poke claiming it actually gives them the flu. I, myself fall somewhere in the middle.

Let me be clear, our kiddos get vaccinated each year. Mostly because the thought of our 4 year-old (she's days away!) and 1 year-old being miserable with the flu seems like my worst nightmare. Mitch's work offers the shot on-site, so he's covered his year. Now, that leaves me.

I'd like to say I had good intentions to get my own vaccine, but like most things I procrastinated and kept saying, "Ugh, I need to do that!" when the topic came up. Unfortunately the bug caught me, before I had the chance to prevent it. For the last week and a half I've been fighting the common cold which caused me to lose my voice and has since left me sounding like a baritone. Out of nowhere Friday evening, my cold symptoms shifted to signs of the dreaded flu. That awful three-letter word had my confined to my bed most of Saturday, trying not to make contact with the outside world. After sleeping Saturday away, I finally felt like I was on the mend.

It's been a long time since I've felt like that. I'd rather not experience that again anytime soon, so next year I'll be first in line for my flu shot!

Last week I wasn't going to let a little cold stop me from going on Harper's first field trip. Not only was it her first organized field trip, it was also her first live theater experience. Karing Kingdom organized for all to attend the Old Lodge Theater's production of Cinderella, and I'm not sure who was more excited - me or Harper.

The excitement was in full force right from the start, when we boarded the school bus at the church. Harper picked seat "3" and naturally took the window. She gazed out the glass and looked at me with her giant blue eyes and said, "Mom, this is so cool!" In her mind, this was already the best field trip ever.

After a decent bus ride, we pulled up to a soggy Old Log Theater. It was pouring outside and Harper made sure to jump in as many puddles as possible on our way in. Once we walked into the auditorium, Harper gasped and whispered, "Mom, it's beautiful in here!" It was just about the cutest ever. We were shuffled to our seats where we waiting for Cinderella to make her debut.

The show started and Harper gave the actors her full attention. As time went on and nearly an hour passed, her interest was fading. She looked over at me and whispered, "can we go back to the bus now?" I laughed and tried quickly explaining to her we had to wait a little bit longer. The last 20 minutes were a little antsy, but we made it through. We gave the cast a big applause as they took their final bow. It was a fun girls day, enjoying Harper's first field trip.

Another exciting event in the last couple weeks was the Prep Bowl. I don't follow high school football super close (shocking, I know), but when my Mom informed me that Osseo was on a winning streak and had a chance to go to the State Championship - the Orioles were on our radar.

They did indeed make it to the finals, and my Mom and I made the trip to TCF Bank Stadium to cheer them on. The game was wild and quite honestly could have been the initial reason I lost my voice. In the last minute, the "comeback kids" held up to their name and shocked us all. It was such an exciting time and such proud moment for the sweet town of Osseo.

Over the last week or so, Harper and Emmett's relationship has grown a little sweeter. They're starting to play together and actually share toys. It's a wonderful site. Most of the time she instantly puts a smile on his face, as he chases her around. Giving Harper "huggies" is also a regular occurrence. It truly might be the sweetest thing ever.