Hey isn't this easy?

"Miss Stewart, what's your name? Is it Miss or Mrs.?" Andrew asked the question I've heard about 4 billion times since working at Bright Child.
"Do you know the difference?"
"Yes."
I held up my ringless left hand.
"What? Why are you showing me your hand?"
I pointed at my ring finger.
"What?"
"No ring."
"Oh. Do you have to wear a ring if you're married?"
Good question.

And then nine year old Jessica brought me her homework for help. She placed her math sheet in front of me and carefully laid a stained paper towel next to it. I did a double take – yes, the paper towel was splotched with reddish brown stains. Blood. She placed a small object on top of it.

"I pulled my tooth out today. Christian pulled his out too. We pulled them out at the same time!" I grimaced, feeling only a vague relief that I wouldn't have to watch her wiggle it anymore.

But for the most part, the germs were fairly well behaved today. Yes, that's what I'll be referring to them as from now on, because that's what they are: germs and carriers. We were basically an infirmary, sans nurses, today; the kids were sneezing, coughing, and touching anything and anyone that could possibly spread the germs faster. One of the older kids tied toilet paper around his forehead, claiming it was helping his feverish temperature. This seemed fairly strange at the time, but I didn't mention it, feeling too dull and sickly to care – yes, the plague finally struck me a couple days ago, and I have been berating my craven immune system ever since.

On the plus side, I did get to try out an internet home remedy for ear aches. The suggested cures ranged from warm socks, to blowing smoke rings into the ear, to pouring in a teaspoon of urine, to using a hairdryer, or if all else failed: mouthwash on the inflicted ear. I went with the warm olive oil and garlic suggestion, and it really did seem to work. I'm pretty sure part of the improvement was being glad that I wasn't in the excruciating pain that everyone on the chatboards seemed to be in. ("I've been crying all day"..."it's three in the morning and I'm going to the emergency room"...etc). Health is a gift.