Welcome to the Cesspool, I mean, Preschool

So, it is Thursday. The babies should be well into their learning and playing at preschool. But no. They're here with me. Watching Sesame St., no less.

This is not because I feel I can do a better job teaching them abstract concepts. It's certainly not because I'm doing such a stellar job socializing them on my own. As much as I complained and worried on Tuesday, I didn't pull them out because I missed them too much or because they were miserable and unable to survive without me. (They actually had a great time, with a few tears thrown in here and there for good measure. When I went to pick them up, they were pretty much leading the class in story time. Heart melted.)

No, I think preschool is going to be good for us. Except for one thing. The germs.

Yes, the babies are home sick today. Yes, they got sick on the first day of preschool. The first day. You could have knocked me over with a feather when they started sneezing yesterday afternoon. I could not believe it. Which, of course, is silly. You can't live in a bubble for the first three years of your life and expect germs not to find their way in when you venture out into the world of snot and grime and sniffle-ridden kids.

But the first day? I admit, I expected them to last longer than that. And, because I'm always so prepared, I had no idea about the school's sick policy. I called to let them know this morning, although I wasn't sure if I needed to. Through that conversation, I learned two very important things:

1) The babies are going to be sick all of the time. The woman was very kind to me and basically laughed at my description of their illness and told me to feel free to drop them off because there was nothing wrong with them. "As long as they're not throwing up and they don't have a fever over 101, you can come on and bring them in, any time."

Oh.

Now, this is great because kids get colds and what are you going to do, right? Viruses are viruses, and I'm sure at this stage, my kids aren't contagious anymore anyway...or something. Plus, most people actually have lives and are busy during the hours their kids are in preschool, making it a huge inconvenience for them to stay home.

Of course, that's not the case for me. The only difference in my life is an hour more of television for the girls while I write this at home on my couch. I'd be here writing this either way.

2) People are going to send sick kids in a lot. Why? The preschool does not give you a switch day, nor does it give you your money back if you don't utilize its services for any reason. I totally understand this, but I had to ask, especially since I figure the babies will be sick more than not. It's not cheap to send twins to preschool. I can't just be having them skip days because I want to coddle them. I mean, I can and I will, I'm sure, but I really can't afford it. I'm doubting any other parent can either.

Welcome to the cesspool. At least they're having fun, right?


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