Being a parent this time of year can feel more like a nursing job than a parenting one. With the flu going around like nobody’s business, plus the general dreck of January, plus the dry-as-a-bone weather that would make anyone’s nose ooze, it’s a bad time of year to be around children 24/7. 

Odds are, at least one of your clan is either sick, recovering from an illness, or worn out from taking care of sick people. It’s one of those things about being a parent that you just can’t get around. Kids are germy people, and they aren’t always great about washing their hands or keeping to themselves. They will lay all over each other in a pile at recess, not caring what will happen to them. But kids usually bounce back from that kind of thing quickly. Adults, on the other hand, not so much.