Amy’s anxious.

For the first time in Sorenne’s 16 months, Amy is going away for a couple of days, leaving me and the kid to par–ty.

Amy and a colleague left early this morning for Montreal and the Northeast Modern Language Association annual meeting, or NeMLA. Every time she says NeMLA, I say NAMBLA. It never gets old.

I was chatting with the neighbors yesterday about how fortunate we are. We have two students provide 20 hours of child care for Sorenne – the most loved child in the world – in our house. And contrary to the expectations, Sorenne is exceedingly social. If we wanted 20 hours of day care, we’d have to pay for 40 – full-time. The U.S. has some weirdness, like 6 weeks of maternity leave. We’re fortunate.

Not so the kids at a day care center in Clark County, Washington, which has been temporarily shut down after four kids were hospitalized with E. coli O157:H7.

The Oregonian cited Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County’s public health officer, as saying the health department learned of the first hospitalization on March 19. Soon after, three other children required hospitalization. Investigators tested stool samples from 22 children and four adult caregivers at the day care and found six carrying the O157:H7 strain but not showing symptoms.

The day care will remain closed until the affected staff show no presence of the bacteria on two consecutive tests conducted at least a day apart, Melnick said. Children who tested positive have to meet the same criteria before being allowed to attend any daycare or school.