Two nights ago, Jonah woke up at 2:30 am and puked up his guts. He did the same thing at 3 am, 4:15, and 6. It was a garden variety stomach bug. He was feverish and nauseous for 24 hours. Now, he’s weak, but on the mend. Yesterday, I kept him company on the sofa and watched superhero movies in the afternoon. Today, I’m yelling at him to drink and eat and get back on his feet.

It’s really not a big deal. He’s 14, and he has a stomach bug. Well, it shouldn’t be a big deal, but it is. He’s missing two days of school the week before mid terms. His teachers are cramming in the last assignments of the term. He’s had about a dozen tests and quizes and papers in the past two weeks. Six hours of homework. We want to make sure that he maintains his A’s in English and History, so he can get into the special program for Sophomore year. We’re all worried that he’ll never be able to make up all the work that he missed and the teachers will mark his work late. There’s bound to be lots of back-and-forths between us and teachers to make sure that they input the make up grades properly. He’ll have to take up a make-up geometry test after school, as the teacher taps her foot and looks at the clock, so she can run out to get her kid from daycare.

This is insane. A kid should be able to be sick for a day or two without that fear of putting in two all-nighters to finish missing homework and assignments.

Steve needs to go to the dermatologist. He’s need to go for about a year, but keeps putting it off, because it’s too hard to figure out when to go. He doesn’t get any sick days or personal days to schedule these appointments. He is expected to burn a vacation day to attend to these matters.

Nobody is allowed to be sick anymore. We live in a world that expects robots, not fragile humans.