Daycare is making this hard!

[NYGuido]

Ok, so I just need to vent a bit to a sympathetic audience:

Having a kid in daycare is messing with my cigar smoking in a way that’s annoying!

Ever since my son started daycare in November, I get maybe a week most between various forms of illness. Colds, flus, weird bugs that have names I can’t pronounce. It’s like he’s being dropped off in a germ frappe every morning and returning home as a bioweapon every evening. 

And what of it? Well, it turns out that having sinuses that aren’t more clogged than a frat house toilet helps taste flavor. And cigar smoke seems not to kill the germs involved in sore throats. And wives tend not to get why one might want to smoke while hacking up a lung. 

Maybe it’ll get better when the weather is warm and the kids can go outside. Maybe I’m doomed to be sick for the next 16 years. But damn, can I get a break here!?

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk. 

[BG318]

When they are old enough to care about their own personal hygiene it will get better. For the time being, and through some point in middle school, their environment is a petri dish of every common and uncommon ailment. I think they all sneeze on each other and then lick the stairway handrail for good measure. There isn't enough hand sanitizer in the world to fix it. The only time in my life that I was subject to those illnesses was when my son was that age. It's less contagious in the subway I think.

[NYGuido]

41 minutes ago, BG318 said:

When they are old enough to care about their own personal hygiene it will get better. For the time being, and through some point in middle school, their environment is a petri dish of every common and uncommon ailment. I think they all sneeze on each other and then lick the stairway handrail for good measure. There isn't enough hand sanitizer in the world to fix it. The only time in my life that I was subject to those illnesses was when my son was that age. It's less contagious in the subway I think.

Thank you! This is both hilarious and validating. I, too, think the subway is less germy than whatever kind of unholy soup of pestilence he spends his day in!

[cnov]

I feel your pain.

Just had a week in the sun away from a rainy UK. 1 day before I get struck down with the cold that's worked through the family. We arrived in Egypt and the fever hit me about a few minutes before the door to the airplane opened.

On the third day, I managed to start making my way through the cigars. I probably couldn't get the full flavour spectrum, but the kids were away from me and I could enjoy a cigar in the warmth instead of a cold garage alongside an electric heater that could rival Habanos in it's efforts to take all of my money.

Egypt is very smoker friendly, you can light up most places that I visited in Dahab. 

Edit - To add weight to the original point, one of the bastard's picked up a dose of Impetigo, no doubt through his efforts to explore the world via the sense of taste. The second now has it. 

Kids will ruin you life, hobbies and wife. I'm told 8 years is too late for an abortion, even in a back street. 

Love them dearly of course but they will do their best to ruin good times. 

[NYGuido]

3 hours ago, cnov said:

I feel your pain.

Just had a week in the sun away from a rainy UK. 1 day before I get struck down with the cold that's worked through the family. We arrived in Egypt and the fever hit me about a few minutes before the door to the airplane opened.

On the third day, I managed to start making my way through the cigars. I probably couldn't get the full flavour spectrum, but the kids were away from me and I could enjoy a cigar in the warmth instead of a cold garage alongside an electric heater that could rival Habanos in it's efforts to take all of my money.

Egypt is very smoker friendly, you can light up most places that I visited in Dahab. 

Edit - To add weight to the original point, one of the bastard's picked up a dose of Impetigo, no doubt through his efforts to explore the world via the sense of taste. The second now has it. 

Kids will ruin you life, hobbies and wife. I'm told 8 years is too late for an abortion, even in a back street. 

Love them dearly of course but they will do their best to ruin good times. 

My son LOVES my cigars. He's a bit over 2 but runs to my humidor, smells them, wants his own, etc. But damn, his germs prevent me from tasting them pretty often. And having yourself struck down while on vacation!? Is there no indignity too great!?

Maybe I will be free of sickness for more than a week once the weather is better. But your note re Egypt makes me wonder whether that's just when sickness will tighten its grip even more. 

[puromaniac]

Ahhh...to be young again with first-batch-kiddo issues. It starts with your kids getting sick and then sharing with you. Then it's your grandkids copying Mom and Dad. Just at the time you are ready to claim well-earned "me time" to smoke. On top of it, they get sent home from Daycare because they're sick, and Mom and Dad are working, so guess who gets to watch them? Wouldn't have it any other way. 

[DOYLE]

They don't go through the decontamination room on their way in and out each day?

Might need to start doing that.

[NYGuido]

2 hours ago, puromaniac said:

Ahhh...to be young again with first-batch-kiddo issues. It starts with your kids getting sick and then sharing with you. Then it's your grandkids copying Mom and Dad. Just at the time you are ready to claim well-earned "me time" to smoke. On top of it, they get sent home from Daycare because they're sick, and Mom and Dad are working, so guess who gets to watch them? Wouldn't have it any other way. 

I had my awesome dude when I was 3 months shy of 40. Maybe doing it earlier would’ve meant more energy and a more robust immune system. But man, I love this little guy. 

[Havanaaddict]

I think you need to buy a 50 gal. drum sized hand sanitizer and dip him in it when he gets home!

[Capn_Jackson]

My wife has taught elementary kids for years, and so she’s used to that age group’s germs. I teach college-age and adult, so any time I go to our daughters’ school for an event or whatever, I usually end up with the sniffles at least. This past few days I’ve come down with something ridiculous, meanwhile the weather has warmed to a nice temp for a smoke! Today would be a perfect day for a Hoyo DC or a Winnie, but I’m not gonna waste the burn when I can’t enjoy it! Sucks. 

Hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, and Lysol spray are your friends, @NYGuido. Apply liberally! 🫶

[JohnS]

My advice to you @NYGuido is plainly to "suck it up, buttercup!" 'C'est la vie', as they say. 

In all seriousness, having come through the other side and with my kids now young adults, one consistently wishes to return to those innocent times, however hard they are to go through!

[NYGuido]

1 hour ago, JohnS said:

My advice to you @NYGuido is plainly to "suck it up, buttercup!" 'C'est la vie', as they say. 

In all seriousness, having come through the other side and with my kids now young adults, one consistently wishes to return to those innocent times, however hard they are to go through!

You’re so right on sucking it up 😂 

And I think you’re even more right on missing these days once they’re gone. I soak up every second I can, when he hugs me I never let go first, and I’ve taken more pics and videos than would’ve been possible before smartphones. 
 

[El Hoze]

3 hours ago, NYGuido said:

I had my awesome dude when I was 3 months shy of 40. Maybe doing it earlier would’ve meant more energy and a more robust immune system. But man, I love this little guy. 

I had my son (one and done) two months before I turned 40. He is seven now (I am still 39). I always see younger pictures of him pop up on my phone and get teary eyed and think “one day you’ll look back on a picture from today with the same feeling”…good reminder to enjoy every moment. 

I have always had sensitive/bad sinuses as well so having him puts me at risk of having to put the cigars down for a week plus or minus (i.e. an eternity) if I get sick. I am a huge believer in taking a good daily multivitamin, for me it seems to really help my immune system. (I take Pure Encapsulations Mens Pure Pack). We just had Influenza A rip through his whole class and families, everyone was sick, my wife got sick, he was sick, and even with him sleeping next to me all night I didn’t get sick. Doesn’t make you immune obviously but I think it can really help your odds/frequency/length of getting sick if you stick to a good supplement plan. Enjoy it, I call my guy my greatest accomplishment and I’m probably on mile 3 of the marathon. 

[NYGuido]

7 hours ago, El Hoze said:

I had my son (one and done) two months before I turned 40. He is seven now (I am still 39). I always see younger pictures of him pop up on my phone and get teary eyed and think “one day you’ll look back on a picture from today with the same feeling”…good reminder to enjoy every moment. 

I have always had sensitive/bad sinuses as well so having him puts me at risk of having to put the cigars down for a week plus or minus (i.e. an eternity) if I get sick. I am a huge believer in taking a good daily multivitamin, for me it seems to really help my immune system. (I take Pure Encapsulations Mens Pure Pack). We just had Influenza A rip through his whole class and families, everyone was sick, my wife got sick, he was sick, and even with him sleeping next to me all night I didn’t get sick. Doesn’t make you immune obviously but I think it can really help your odds/frequency/length of getting sick if you stick to a good supplement plan. Enjoy it, I call my guy my greatest accomplishment and I’m probably on mile 3 of the marathon. 

Ok this made me tear up a little. I feel the exact same about my dude. Best thing I’ve ever done. 

And thank you for the suggestions!

[ha_banos]

No kids here. Yet we're wondering if we'll end up getting the bloody measles innit! No escape!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1l7m3renv7o

[zacca]

7 hours ago, BG318 said:

and then lick the stairway handrail for good measure.

Builds character…and immunity! 

[TheFez]

Preaching to the choir here...

Me: Here's half my paycheck

School: Here's a new unkillable virus every other week.

[Li Bai]

Kids have to build their immunity, here are a few tips that worked out pretty well for us.

• Kids from a young age should play outside at least 1-2 hours a day, independent of the weather (but dressed accordingly, of course).

• They should go to sleep and get off bed at the same time everyday, same with the meals, respecting biological rhythms is key.

• Avoid processed foods at all costs.

• Having pets is a good thing when possible, recent studies showed that kids born and raised in contact with animals on farms are much less likely to developp allergies later in life and are much more resistant to common colds.

As for the parents, you can't control external aggressions (viruses, bacterias,..), what you do control is how strong you are when they come at you. I found that having a precise sleep schedule does wonders, same with the food, and you should exercise daily. Vitamins aren't a bad idea, another thing that works well is eating raw ginger daily (around 10/20g).

My two cents...