The "Dramallama" Strikes In Full Force

I know it's rare that I post a blog twice in one day, but this is worth it.

There is a little girl at daycare that I love dearly. She is so cute and mean and sweet. She's a total handful really, and she's only 2 1/2! Yesterday while the kids were on the playground she began whining. She said, "I want to go home and get my bwankie and go to sleep." Well... her teacher immediately knew that she wasn't feeling well so she brought her inside. I was thinking that she felt a little warm, but I waited until she had been inside for a little while before checking her temperature. When I did check it, it was 101.2. I gave her some Motrin and a cup of apple juice, wrapped her up in a blanket and rocked her until her mom got here. She is a rounder anyways, so it was really hard to keep her still.

Her mother brought her back this morning. Normally, it is our policy that a child has to be symptom free for 24 hours before they can return to daycare. But, her mother said that she had not run a fever anymore - not before bed time, not during the night, and not this morning when she woke up. So, we let her stay today. She has been totally fine all day. Then at snack time, she started whining again. Her teacher brought her to me; she was crying and saying, "My bewwie (bellie) hurts." She came into my office and immediately my heart breaks for the poor little thing. She was really pale and that worried me. Her teacher said, "She says she doesn't need to potty, but her stomach feels really tight. And I don't think she has a fever." I said, "Come here, baby. Does your tummy hurt?"

And that's when it happened... she came walking towards me and... BAAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! ALL OVER ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There was hardly any of it in the carpet in my office - because it was all on me! The teacher immediately ran to get towels and rags. She acted very fast and is now my hero. She may even get a raise over the whole ordeal. Not really, but she deserves a bonus for it at least. While she was getting the towels, I held the little girl's hand, but I had to look at the wall. I was getting very nauseous and I began gagging. The poor little girl was so sick and pitiful. This is the exchange between myself and her teacher:

Me: I'm going home to change. Can you stay until I get back? [keep in mind this happened right at the time that this teacher was supposed to be leaving.]
Teacher: Yeah, I can stay. Are you gonna be OK?
Me: No.
Teacher: Are you going to get sick? [a little panic in her voice]
Me: Yes, but I'll be OK.

So I went home and stripped off my clothes at the front door. I ran upstairs and jumped in the bathtub and scrubbed my legs beyond oblivion. Then I changed into clean clothes and threw my yucky clothes in the sink to soak. I gagged all the way home, and three hours later, I am still extremely nauseated. I tried to be a big girl about it, but it was so terrible that I could barely hold it together. And I feel so horrible that I just walked out without loving on the little girl and trying to reassure her that she was going to be OK. Luckily, her teacher is a wonderful person and I have no doubt that she took very good care of her. By the time I got back to work, the little girl's mom had already picked her up. My, Oh, My... What a day...