"My heart was screaming NO!"

It's that time of the year again. Yep, time to pack up the kids and head out to pediatrics for our annual flu shots. If you don't get a flu shot, you really should. The flu is nasty stuff. And I'm not talking about a little cold that imitates the flu, I'm talking about true influenza. A lot of people think they "get the flu every year" or have had the flu. Probably not. Lots of viruses imitate the flu virus, but few are actually as bad as the real thing.

The flu is sudden. "I got sick around 4pm on Friday." Not "I got sick a couple of days ago." The flu makes you wish you were dead, or at least totally unconscious. A cold just makes you achy and whiny. With the flu, you're so sick, you can't whine. See the difference? It's a big one, and trust me when I say, a shot (and the piddly little side effects, if you get them) is nothing compared to getting true influenza.

So, we went for our annual flu shots. Normally Little Miss pitches a fit the size of Texas on steroids. It's not pretty. At all. This year, we made her go first (nice, huh?) and made her relax. She sat, squealed a bit, but then was amazed to find out that it wasn't as bad as she thought it was. Whew! One down, 5 to go.

Monkey Boy sat down and took his like...well, a monkey. He giggled a bit when it was over. Not bad, this could be a record for us! Then the Lizard went (and dads don't cry) followed by me (and no, I didn't cry either). Next up was Little Dude, who, unfortunately, had fallen asleep in the car on the way over and was still sound asleep...right up until he got hit with an alcohol wipe and a needle...OUCH! Needless to say, he was a little peeved at the whole situation. Can't say as I blame him.

Now, to fully appreciate how Mighty Man took his shot, you must understand that he is very, VERY strong. And built like a brick house. When he has it in his head that something is or is not going to happen, well, then that's that. Let's just say that he wasn't thrilled at the prospect of getting a shot. At all. Not even one itty bitty, teeny tiny, little bit. So he fought, but I'm pretty good at battening down all flailing appendages. He got his shot.

Later on the way out to the car, he discussed the chain of events leading up to his inoculation. "I didn't want a fue shot, mommy."

You didn't? Why not?

"Wewl, my heart didn't want a fue shot. My heart was scweaming NO! Didn't you heaw it, mommy?"

I had to admit I didn't hear his heart screaming no. I promised to listen harder next time. And he promised to consider letting his nose get the flu medicine instead of his arm. He said he needs to ask his heart. He's always so serious about things. It really cracks me up.