Dear Kittie and all, I loved "Re Light,green light" and "Giant Steps"[otherwise known as "Mother, May I ?",and dodgeball,and "Stone School" and jump rope,although I was rotten at it.Guess that was because my legs were herds shorter than everyone else's! :-)At 4'10",I would still be rotten! Some of you on the list know that Tom and I have been sick for almost a month now.The doctor has tested Tom for,of all things,whooping cough! We have to know what this is ,and get better real soon since our daughter Jen is ready to deliver us our third grandchild.[Her first.]It will be this week,probably Friday ,if not before. Now that I have opened a new topic for us to discuss,what childhood diseases do you all remember having?They are memories,too,albeit not happy ones.I picked holidays to be sick with most of mine...not smart! :-) Childhood Memories I shall start."Ready or not here I come!" Chicken pox:Third grade,Halloween.Did not need a mask,was peppered .My classmates sent cards,and trick-or-treat candy to me from the class party.Our doctor's daughter was in my class,and Dr. Johnson delivered them to me on his house call.[Remember them?Reach waaaaay back in your memory for that one!] Measles,regular,:Fourth of July.Looked at fireworks out of my bedroom window.Reminded me of Robert Louis Stevenson's poem ,"The Land of Counterpane".You know..."When I was sick and lay in bed ,I had two pillows at my head",although my personal counterpane had fireworks! Three day measles:Thanksgiving.Did not even need to miss school.Dumb choice of timing! Mumps:All of Easter vacation [in seventh grade[,and then some .Sick,sick,sick,no fun.I did get a nifty pair of PJ's from my grandparents,and about 6 new Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames books. Whooping cough:Last three weeks of summer vacation,and then coughed until Christmas vacation.Did you know what the Japanese call whooping cough?The 100 day cough disease. Apt name!I caught the rotten disease at summer camp.Ugh! Asian Flu.I know that is not an actual "childhood disease ",but since I was a child when I had it,and on a Christmas vacation ,I might add,I shall include it.This I generously shared with my entire family,and not just my siblings as I did other germs.They were not impressed!We had foster children when I was growing up,and two of the boys who lived with us parent's were doctors in med school,so they came and took care of all of us.Nice to have private health care workers in the family! Now as an adult,I still in the back of my mind face holidays with the fear and trepidation of the thought,"Oh no,now what lovely germ can I catch this time!" Tell me your childhood disease stories! Jerilyn,who is still coughing her head off