Love in the Time of Pertussis

J got three shots today...varicella, MMR and DTaP.  And for the first time since her first H1N1 (no one knew when the health department would get them in, so we had very little notice), I wasn't there.  What a crap mom I am!  She was supposed to get her immunizations last week, at her well-child exam, which I took her to! She'd been sick, however, and we were headed to Oaks Park and then Busytown, so her doctor let us put them off a week.  I had somehow thought she was supposed to get them before starting kindergarten, but I guess they have moved this back to the four-year-old check-up, so I wasn't expecting it. G took her this morning, and of course he was more than capable.  J took it like the champ she is, and a shout out to Ally at PMG for giving shots so quickly and expertly.

But I still feel like crap.  

I feel bad, I hasten to assure you, because I wasn't there.  I do not feel bad because I think vaccines are dangerous/cause autism/make you gay.  I don't.  I fully support immunization, and people who argue that "herd immunity" protects children piss me off.  If you want to be part of this society, there are some things you have to do.  You pay taxes, you keep your stereo at a reasonable volume, and you vaccinate your kids.  Sure, your kid might handle measles swimmingly, but what about the kid down the block--the one who can't get vaccinated because he has cancer and a compromised immune system?  He sure as hell isn't going to handle measles.  And what about all the babies who are too young for the vaccines but not too young to die of the disease?  I guess that's OK as long as it's not your kid.

Don't get me started.

Anyway, the verdict is in that I am a crap mom.  Am I also a crap wife? 

It's possible I am not the best wife.  I mean, I can't rule it out.  But I have done more than 50% of the heavy lifting, and I'm tired.  Really, really tired.  


Just sayin'.