No Sickness on a Weekday!

Well, the inevitable happened.  After her first week of preschool, the girl came home ill on Friday.  A sore throat turned stuffy nose with an extra helping of crankiness.  In our home, medication is a last resort; we treat most illness with rest, water, and healing foods.  And so, I took extra care of my baby over the weekend, with the hope that she'd be well enough for school come Monday.  She got up this morning with a scratchy voice and stuffy nose.  The little circles under her eyes and her pasty skin made it quickly clear that she was indeed not entirely well yet.  Sigh.  The stay-at-home Mom within me would have kept her home from school, cuddling on the couch, drinking homemade broth with lots of raw garlic.  But, alas, I am a stay-at-home Mom no longer!  What to do?  She did not have a fever (not at all since Friday) and her nose was not running.  She seemed to perk up a bit, and so we went off to school!  Now, every Mom has been in this situation a million times.  Keep them home or send them?  It's a tough call.  I confess I have felt my share of anger toward Moms who have sent their little ones to school, obviously ill.  I've always thought to myself it not fair for them to expose my kid because they didn't want to take the day off.  I'M SORRY FOR THINKING THIS WAY!  FORGIVE ME, WORKING MOMS!  It's only the third week in and I did not feel I could miss my classes.  Had she a fever, I would have most definitely kept her home.  But, she did not...and so I have become one of THOSE moms: )  I was so unsure of my decision.  I only half listened in class because I worried about my little one.  My worry subsided when I picked her up in the afternoon.  She was the happiest I've ever seen her after a day at school!  She spent the entire afternoon singing away - snot encrusted on her face, scratchy voice and all!  She informed me that all her friends had colds, too!  She thought it was funny: )  I served her homemade chicken soup for dinner.  She is a happy little girl and I survived my first sending-her-to-school-sick day.  I can't help but worry, though, about the potential for seriously ill children in the future this semester.  How many days will I need to take off for their illness?  And so, I have posted a new family rule:  No sickness on a weekday!  It WILL be a punishable offense!