FOMO

It's been a tough week.  I mentioned last week that our 4-year-old, Scarlett, got the croup on the day before school started, so she missed the first day of school.  I was excited to send her to school on the 2nd day, but when we picked her up after lunch (to ease her into the school routine), she had a fever again.  The fever continued all week and all weekend.  I didn't think there was a chance she'd miss any school this week, and it's turned out that she's missed every day.  When we saw the doctor on Monday, she said it was likely a slow-moving virus.  Other than a cough, she feels pretty good, so she's her usual good-natured self, just unable to go to school.  She'll head back to the doctor today, and hopefully they can give us some hope or some kind of treatment to bring her back to her healthy, happy, active self.

I know Scarlett will be okay.  I just don't know when, and it's driving me crazy.  She's a bright kid and one of the oldest kids in her 4-year-old kindergarten class.  So I don't worry about her missing the academic part of school.  But I keep thinking about how her classmates all know each other's names now and have made friends in the 2 weeks she's been gone, and she's been cooped up at home. 

A friend introduced me to the term FOMO, which stands for "Fear of missing out."  I think we all have FOMO attacks every now and then.  I remember as a kid, having to go to bed while my parents had friends over.  I'd lie in bed, listening to their muffled laughter downstairs, wondering what fun I was missing out on.  Sometimes, I've gone to events I wasn't particularly interested in, just because I feared that something interesting would happen, and I'd miss it.

Scarlett's been a real trooper.  Though she knows she's missed a lot of fun things in the last 2 weeks, she doesn't complain about missing school or swim lessons or Sunday School or Kids' Club.  But I think I've got some FOMO on her behalf.  I wonder what her class is doing each day, the things they giggle about, the routines they're getting used to while she gets better acquainted with Elmo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I wonder which kids will be her friends when they finally get to know her.  I know in a few weeks, this frustrating fortnight will be just a distant memory.  I pray she returns to health very soon, because I can't wait to hear the stories she'll have to tell of all the new friends she's making at school.  And after she's back at school, I can deal with FOMO for different reasons.  :)