Concerns about the spread of swine flu have spread across the country. With one child dead in Texas, and countless suspected and confirmed cases in schools through out the country, as a mom I can’t help but be concerned. And I know many moms across the country are also concerned.

Sadly, the President and Congress have repeatedly refused to secure the border. We are now paying the price. Thousands of Mexican families have recently returned from Mexico, and thousands more continue to come into our country. Some of these families are carrying the swine flu, but by the time we find out which ones, it will be too late. Considering the serious nature of the threat, we should close the schools earliy. Because the truth is, if we leave our schools open, we will be forcing parents to choose between obeying the law or putting their children’s lives at risk. No parent should be forced to make that choice.

While some might try to belittle these concerns, the truth is that people-and children-are dieing. By closing our schools a little early, we stand a far greater chance of containing the flu as much as possible until some answers can be found. Teachers do an amazing job educating our children. Every teacher I have met has been sincerely interested in the welfare of our kids and really goes beyond the call of duty to give them the very best possible education. How badly will we feel, should a child or a teacher end up dead because we required them to attend despite the growing threat?

As a mom, I love my children more than I ever thought was possible-as most moms do. If we don’t act quickly, by the time we do it may be far too late. I hope all of our schools consider closing early-before it is too late. While Washington has clearly done little to secure our borders and protect our children, our states have the opportunity to keep our children safe.  And the life that our state's leaders may save-may be their own child's.