ORIGINALLY POSTED ON YODELINGMAMAS.COM
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In the last couple weeks our house has been taken down by three cases of the stomach flu and two cases of pneumonia. I was the fortunate family member to be hit with both. Luckily most of the health drama is now just a distant memory, but sadly, it turns out, the concept of a “sick day” is too.
Not that being sick was ever fun. But there was something nice about curling up on the couch and shutting out the rest of the world, just for awhile. For some reason—well, two little reasons really—that just isn’t how it went this time.
A baby with pneumonia doesn’t care that I’ve just run out of the bathroom for the umpteenth time that day. He still needs his inhalers and loving arms to hold him. A healthy 4-year old doesn’t care that I can barely walk to the kitchen, he still wants dinner on the table and someone to laugh at his jokes.
My husband, you ask? He’s wonderful. Truly, the best. Except when he, too, has the stomach flu.
A good friend—who was quickly elevated to angel status in my puffy, watery eyes—took my healthy son to and from school, and even entertained and fed him dinner on my darkest day. And within a couple days, my son and her whole family were hit by the horrific bug too. (Really A, I’m so, so sorry…again.)
So I’m sure my friend, and many other mothers, can relate as I say goodbye to the days of Beau and Hope’s lives, hello to the adventures of a curious little monkey. Goodbye to a couch nestled in chenille blankets, hello to a couch lined in old bath towels. Goodbye to healthy doses of piping hot tea, hello to sneaky doses of icky Pedialyte. Goodbye to Glamour, hello to a hungry caterpillar (a very poor choice, by the way, when you have the stomach flu).
Yes, once I had kids, things were different. Mostly in wonderful, heart-warming ways. But sometimes I realize that there are days I long for…even the sick ones.
Use Your Words