Flu Season? Yeah, Right!

This is Joys Blog
Halloween Horror Story

The horrors of Halloween are about to begin so get ready folks!  No, it’s not a story about ghosts or goblins or being scared at a haunted house.  It’s about the horrors that happen after!
As a former teacher, I can tell you that the absolutely worst day to work is the day after Halloween!  All of my students were tired from being up late, harried because they didn’t want to get up for school and hung over from their sugar overload from the night before.  After a long morning with sleepy faces and tummy aches sprinkled in math and spelling, lunch time began and everyone of those kids had more candy!!!  Needless to say the afternoon wasn’t much better.
More importantly, I began to notice a pattern evolve for the next couple of months in my students. The news said “Cold and Flu season” has started but I knew the season was due to sugar attacking immune systems.  With the start of the Halloween sugar rush, I noticed more and more sugary treats in lunches because the kids were demanding them from their parents (fungus screams to be fed!)  And besides, all that left over candy was on sale at the store!  
By Thanksgiving, nearly every child had come down with something during the month.  Maybe the break for holiday would interrupt illnesses running rampant through the class.  But no – new patterns emerged.  Kids still wanted their candy and sweets but added to that parents were relying more and more on fast foods and packaged meals because Christmas was coming and time was short.  More flu and colds invaded but now the teachers were getting sick too!  Did I forget to mention that we teachers/parents always planned for the future?  Our Halloween stash of candy was in the freezer so the kids couldn’t get it and it just kept calling to us  – “You poor thing, feel sorry for yourself, how about a little treat?  You deserve it!”
Thank goodness December is a shorter month and Christmas vacation was always a welcome relief.  Now we could all get well…Ya think?  Candy canes, cookies and cakes – oh my…That fungus kept screaming and we kept feeding it just to keep it quiet.  We didn’t need any more stress at the holidays.
Think the Halloween Horror Story comes to an end with the New Year?  Don’t even get me started on Valentines Day or Easter Baskets!  The point is most of us set ourselves up for illness and heartache when October 31st hits.  Sugar needs more sugar.  Illness is an opportunistic host that feeds on sugar.  Illnesses mean miserable kids, days off of school and missed work.  Healthy bodies mean happy, wonderful holidays.  Give me snickers or give me health!  It’s your choice.

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