I didn't stock up on bottled water or buy a power generator before Y2K. I made no plans to carry a rifle and hunt for my own food beginning on 1/1/2000.As a rule, I tend to not freak out when stuff like Bird Flu, SARS or what-have-you dominates the news but this Swine Flu thing has already changed one of my plans. I was going to take the girls to an indoor bounce/gym place today, as it's rainy and kinda cold here in SE Pennsylvania, but news this morning of the 1st U.S. death attributed to the flu has me unsettled.
Maybe it's because the first victim was a 23 month old child, and my youngest just turned 23 months yesterday. Maybe it's because I'm getting old and such things are more likely to get me spooked. I don't know, but I'm going to pass on the chance to send my girls into germ-zone with, potentially, dozens of other kids sporting snot dripping down across their lips and fingers. While no one is exactly sure how this strain of flu came to be or is being transmitted, it seems that folks-in-know agree that it's being moved around rather easily.
The question is: at what point does this thing start to really alter our decision making as parents. Do we avoid the mall (generally a good idea anyway, for numerous other reasons)? Do we not opt for the bacon cheeseburger at dinner until H1N1 blows over? Keep kids home from daycare/school? Can I still enjoy pork roll with my cheesy-scrambled eggs? Okay, so my breakfast meat is not life altering, but seriously is anyone going out of their way to protect themselves, and more importantly, their little ones from Swine Flu?
Fortunately, we have just 8 days of Pre-K left before summer break (and fortunately the kids will be home all summer, not in a camp or in a daycare situation). So should this get worse, should cases of the flu start to spread to all 50 states, we can fortify ourselves to a certain extent.
What preventative steps is your family taking at this point? If none, what would it take before you consider some?
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