As it turns out, the prophylaxis for Lyme disease exposure in children is amoxicillin, and as it happens The Girl is already on that for the ear infection she was diagnosed with last week. Hooray for ear infections!*
*****
I think we found a rental house. It is small, but has a third bedroom, a sun porch, and a small yard. My husband will be a 10 minute drive from his new job. We can walk to a playground, a few stores, and a nursery school that probably won't have room for The Boy (who isn't potty trained anyway, as the school requires), but we'll see. The town has a reputation for snootiness, and it's unlikely that we could afford to buy there, but for whatever reason, the rentals were more affordable and in better condition than the less snooty towns where we're more likely to end up.
Yesterday, we went out to "celebrate" this life change at a neighborhood bistro (while the kids were with the sitter). We watched a father have a reasonably calm and delightful lunch with his two children--the sort of thing we never manage to do--and felt a pang about all that we'll be giving up.
"If you can make it [here], you can make it anywhere," is the way the song goes, and the decision to leave is the admission that we're not making it. It feels like quitting. It feels like surrender. It feels awful.
Some of you have suggested that being happy in our suburban life is a state of mind, and I agree that it is. Besides, it's not easy (or desirable) to boo-hoo in front of The Boy and The Girl who will struggle with this move in more elemental ways. I know I will find good things in the 'burbs, but right now all I can think of is what we're leaving behind.
*Generally speaking, it is rare to contract Lyme disease from a
tick--especially a tick that was discovered within 24 hours--but this
particular tick was picked up in Connecticut, where Lyme disease is a real issue, and on the property of my in-laws, who have struggled with Lyme disease on and off for years.