Let’s talk about swine flu.

Oh wait, H1N1. We can’t offend the pigs.

Either way, it’s a big deal. We’re not supposed to panic, but sit down to watch the TV news and you’ll get the giant OUTBREAK banner and dramatic music that tells you otherwise.

But we’re supposed to take it seriously, even though there aren’t a ton of cases in the U.S. and most seem to be recovering well, quickly, at home.

There could be one wave, or there could be more.

We could get a vaccine rolling fast enough. Or we could be too slow. Or we could not need it at all.

It could be safe to travel on planes and across borders, but it might not be the best idea.

Basically, we don’t know.

The World Health Organization upped us to a level five (out of six) pandemic this week, which sounds scary – but it really just means that H1N1 has spread around a few countries and had the potential to keep going. The good news is that the declaration lets countries use more resources to fight it more effectively.

Point is, we don’t know what’s going on, other than we have presidential orders to wash our hands (and should sing Happy Birthday twice while doing so) – something we should be doing anyway. Same goes for not coughing on each other and staying home when we are sick. It’s one of those calm before the potential storm moments where everyone is on high alert but we’re not exactly sure if we should be.

Much to my boyfriend’s usual disgust, I am a major silver-liner-looker. Like, extreme. So of course I’ve got a whole list of why H1N1 is the greatest thing ever. OK, not quite, but I think some good could come of it, especially now, when the virus itself is relatively quiet.

It’s a teaching moment. For me personally, absolutely. I’m a student in one of the best public health programs in the country in a state with one of the best health departments, so talk about a learning experience. I’m also a health reporter (for a few more weeks anyway) at a large, daily newspaper in a state with a case or two of the flu. Needless to say, it’s been exciting.

But I think it’s a good wake-up call to the public. Emergency preparedness is a hard thing to pitch. There’s nothing to look at, no consequences right in your face. It’s tough to get money for something that’s not even happening – and probably won’t – and that money is easy to cut. Sometimes it takes a scare like this to make people think about the importance of having those what-if plans in place.

It’s true: H1N1 – at least in its current form – doesn’t seem to be as infectious and deadly as we feared it might be. But I give a good chunk of credit to those behind-the-scenes folks who work, unglamorously, to make sure if something like this happens we have the structures in place to handle it.

A quicker H1N1 test is in the works. So is a vaccine. There's no mass panic. It could -- and probably will -- get worse, but we have those people to thank for keeping everything as under control as possible.

Cartoon from msnbc.com