A really bad case of...

Monday morning: the beginning of another work week for Mom and Dad and the third week of school for the kids.  However, this morning, Thing Two came down stairs and crashed on the couch looking like this:

Sobbing, the boy said his head hurt.  I felt his forehead but he didn't seem feverish.  I gave him motrin anyway.  Watching the clock, knowing we had 27 minutes until the school bus came, I ran upstairs and brought some clothes down in case he bounced back quick.  By the time I came downstairs he was moaning.  This is never a good sign.  I got a wash cloth and soaked it in cold water and put it on his forehead.  He complained he was nauseous so I got him the silver throw up bowl and he dry heaved into it a few times.  Tears streaming from his eyes, I decided I wouldn't put him on the bus and let him go back to sleep.  Could it be the boy had a concussion from the football game on Saturday?  Was he coming down with strep throat or did he have a migraine like Thing One sometimes gets?  Was it the beginning of Otitis Media (a dreaded ear infection)?  Or was it going to turn into a nifty GI thing with vomiting followed by icky diarrhea?

When I was home for six years after the twins were born; kicking back, eating bon bons, lounging around watching TV, it was no big deal to have a sick kid on a Monday morning.  However, since I work now (party is over!) as does Thing Two's father, this causes the two adults in our house to consider calendars and the importance of meetings (or whoever pulls the short straw).  Today I stayed home in the morning and Daddy came home to cover the afternoon shift.

Thing Two remained on the couch for much of the morning but then wandered to the computer later in the day.  Apparently he also ran an errand with Dad and helped put the pool cover on.  Then, when the boy heard the bus pulling up in front of the house to drop off his twin, he dashed back to the couch, slipped under the blankets, and began moaning.

It was then we were able to properly diagnose the illness d'jour.Thing Two had a really bad case of Fakeritis.

We were duped!  But it is hard to get too upset with the kid.  I've been known to take a Mental Health day a few times over the years and treat it with a little Retail Therapy.