Bugs and Spring

Well, another school week begins.  Last week was shortened by a scheduled teacher's day off, and by stomach flu (Israel), and this week will be short for Zach, as he will be having his dental work done under anesthesia on Thursday, and will have to get out of school early for a physical on Wed.  He may have to miss school on Friday as well, depending on how much pain he has.  Thank goodness next week is spring break, so we won't have to worry about missing any school.  Each year I think they are going to get yelled at or told they have to repeat a grade for missing so much school, but little can be done sometimes.  The dental office I bring Zach to, only does work at the hospital once a month, so we had to take what they offered. 
Last Wednesday, I awoke with stomach flu, and the boys showed such compassion and selflessness I was beside myself.  Israel bagged up their school snacks for me, they both got dressed by themselves, and both insisted I stay inside and they would make it to their bus stops on their own.  Of course, I couldn't allow that, especially since a mix of freezing rain and snow was blanketing the streets and cars were slipping all over.  I made it through bus stop duty somehow, and rested the whole day.  Every time I thought of how sweet the boys were, it made me so gratful that they are mine.  There have been many times when I have wondered if they are even aware of others, and here they were putting my needs in front of theirs.  Very impressive.
Poor Israel came home from school that day with a stomach ache, and sure enough, caught my bug.  He handled it like a champ, and recovered really quickly, but now has a horrible head cold.  I can't wait for spring to "stick" so we can all get back to our healthy selves.
As the year progresses, the boys' teachers are growing less and less patient with them, and I am all too aware that they need to be diagnosed and posibly medicated.  I have been reluctant to do this, but it may be the best for them, in order for them to be able to get through school without a nearly daily incident.  I think of it as just part of the drill, but their teachers, who handle special need kids, are seeing it as abnormal and disruptive, even for special need kids.  And in the long run, it is drawing attention to them, which can be hurting their self-esteem.  So, I will finally assert myself to researching how I go about getting them assessed/treated during the course of this week.  With Spring break next week, I should be able to get them appointments so they don't have to miss any more school.
All the busy work that needs to be done is less stressful because of the beautiful weather that is forcasted for us this week.  It will mean a thaw and melt, which equals lots of muddy clothes/boots!  But at least, we won't have to rely on those darn snowpants much longer, they are starting to suffer the fate of all my boys pants, torn knees.  Do boys ever grow out of this?