In the hole

"Where's George (not real name) today?" I seem to ask on a daily, hourly basis about another missing student. It is flu season - same old, same old. Except this season instead of the same old responses - "I don't know" or "He's sick" or "She's at a band lesson." I got this response, "Oh, we threw him in the hole."

"Oh, really?" I replied. "Well, isn't he cold and hungry? Why don't you let him out?"

"No, he's fine. There's food and a television down in the hole."

"Oh, OK, I guess." It was a harmless and interesting metaphor - or so I thought at first.

The next week it was a different student in the hole, and the next week it was the one who created the whole myth in the hole. The myth creator told me the hole wasn't as nice as he originally thought it was, and he was glad to be back. "Well, I'm glad you are back too. Now let's fill in the 'holes' in your learning."

And then I fell into the hole. I got sick on a Saturday when my parents were visiting. I didn't say a word about being sick all day because we were going to a show that night. My parents were going to see my one-act play I wrote, starring them. I wasn't going to miss that for anything. By the end of the night, I was nauseous and had a fever of 101. I hate that darn hole! I felt as if I was going to die. I took my husband down with me, and he is mister "I-never-get-sick." I missed three days of school.

When I got back, I told my myth creating student that the hole is not a great place to be, and we need to fill it back up. He agreed whole-heartedly, but there are still more people getting sick, even those who had their flu shot.

Well, I guess one good thing about being sick is that it makes you appreciate being healthy again. Just like a cold winter really makes you appreciate sunshine and 40 degrees. Spring is coming. I can just feel it. I just hope once the snow is melted that the holes left behind aren't too difficult to fill.