Back to life

After two weeks--no, wait, let me rephrase that. After TWO FREAKING WEEKS of the runniest nose you ever did see on a 19 month old, Samson has finally been allowed back at the child care center at the gym.

Oh, happy day, oh glory of glories, oh magical moment where I park the stroller, usher him through the door that leads to plastic castles and tiny cars, and close the door without EVER LOOKING BACK, oh how I missed you. Even the stupid exercising part, which I suppose must be doing my body some good, because after my enforced two week hiatus, today my arms felt like wet noodles and my legs like rubber bands. Even typing this post hurts my abs a little.

The actual cold only lasted 3 days. What a three days it was, mind you--cranky, sleepless nights, green snot, all the fun stuff. But for two weeks after that, the kid was spunky, energetic, and just fine. Except for the never ending river of yellow mucus flowing freely from his nostrils. It was, of course, during this time that he decided to begin calling me "mommy," except it sounded more like "bumby" or "nummy." For a while, the word morphed into "mummitz," which has to be the coolest mommy nickname ever, right? I mean, I nearly went to the DMV to secure my vanity plate.

But he's been snot free since Friday, so I felt it was safe to return to the child care center, without the fear that I would be scolded in front of the other mommies whose children did not look like booger monsters. It's not (heh heh) that I would choose to infect other kids just so I could get an hour away from the boy, don't get me wrong. It's just that the pediatrician swears up and down that after 3 days of no fever and no green snot, toddlers are not contagious, and that even so, the runny nose can last for 2-3 weeks. But I've seen the child care center ladies give other parents their runny nose tongue lashings, and, while I don't blame them necessarily, it's hard to forgo that one hour a day where Samson is somebody else's problem.

He also learned how to blow his nose during the "illness," although he hasn't quite mastered the connection between nose blowing and the use of kleenex. Which was extra adorable at swim class last week. Ahem.