Don’t mind my bubble, I can totally still hear you…

So we're all back to the grind now. I've been busy searching the internet for used text books, waiting in line at the book store, and just trying to get back into my routine. It's pretty much business as usual. This past week felt a lot like the first week of school in September with one major difference; it wasn't flu season in September. While getting back into the swing of things is high on my priority list, attempting to not get infected with the flue is ranking a notch higher on the list. Is it just me or does every single person on campus have a cold or flu? I've taken to carrying little bottles of hand sanitizer in my pockets. In lecture, I've caught myself cringing as the stack of syllabi nears my seat, on it's slow hand-to-hand journey down my row. Am I a germaphobe? I will admit to suffering from this affliction on a seasonal basis. If I could procure a bubble,  I would happily roll myself around campus, free from the fear of contamination. I'm not being facetious...well maybe a little, but the reality is that I simply don't have time to get sick. It all got very real for me last week. As I was settling into my European History textbook, I heard a splash. It had come from the back of my house, near the bedrooms, and it sounded like someone had poured a bucket of water from an elevated position. It sounded like SPLOSSSHHH. Upon investigation I found that my son had from his lofty position on the top bunkbed...how should I put this? Well, he had orally evacuated the contents of his stomach. The aftermath was a whopping fourteen loads of laundry and hours of cleaning adjacent to the SPLOSSSHHH surfaces. The cleanup started at 8pm until went until the following day at 1PM (with a four hour break for sleep). I remember when I was younger I never thought about getting sick. Now that I have kids and I'm trying to finish my degree, I can't afford the down time. This illness equalled two days of missed classes and down-time...not a great start to the term. I'm surrounded on all fronts with viral  forces. My kids bring illnesses home from  elementary school, I also do school placements at elementary schools, I travel to school on the TTC with hundreds of sick adults on a daily basis, and then I inevitably end up sitting beside people in lecture who never seem to have tissues with them when they so very badly need them. I've found this great article about flu faux pas and steps you can take to not infect those around you. I'm sure I'm not the only person on campus who feels like they engaged in a strategic offensive against the flu. If you feel like your defenses could use some fine tuning, then follow this link to find some steps you can take to avoid the flu. If you do have the flu, I'm sorry. I hope you feel better soon. Don't forget about Health Services as U of T if you are sick and need something more than chicken soup. -Lori