Dummy Lights

I really wish kids came equipped with dummy lights. I figure if a light on a car’s dashboard can alert you to the need of an oil change, why can’t a kid have a similar feature that lights up and tells you what’s going on? Imagine deciphering a newborn’s cries with a quick glance. Then you could proceed with a diaper change, sleep, food or comfort according to the necessary remedy. Of course the lights would change as they age. But, oh, think of the sanity they would save!

Our family has been hit by some sort of chest cold/bronchitis. For the past week, the kids have been hacking up lungs and leaving us to ask a myriad of questions:

• Will his cough settle as the day progresses?
• Is he too sick for school?
• Should we give them cough medicine?
• Is he as sick as he is acting or is he overly dramatic?
• If we go to the zoo as planned, will they hack all over every exhibit and child they encounter?
• When is it necessary to go to the doc?
• Are antibiotics really the answer?

I typically favor the wait-and-see approach, but the waiting is often wrought with endless questions and second guesses. I finally gave in and went to the doc. And the answer was as anticipated: It’s probably some virus that needs to run its course. If a simple light would’ve alerted me to the diagnosis, I could’ve saved that insurance claim and time juggling two little ones at the doc. But until those indicator lights become standard issue, I suppose I should rely on that motherly instinct I am supposed to be equipped with. Unfortunately those pesky questions usually cloud that instinct.