There is one thing NO one tells you when you are getting ready to have kids; once those babes are born you will never, not ever have another sick day again in your life. Period. No I’m not whining too much since all I am dealing with is the cold from hell. But oh, what I wouldn’t do for just one lousy sick day. Remember when you were a swinging single, or just a girl sans kids and came down with a killer cold? You would call into the office, declare yourself too unwell to come in and then the day was yours. Your only job, take care of you. I seem to recall a few indulgent “sick days” that met all the requirements of healing;
*Sleeping in under layers of cozy covers.
*Long quiet baths.
*Extra cough medicine without concern if one more tablespoon would make you pleasantly loopy. Napping was encouraged.
*Hours of trashy TV and magazine’s while lounging on the couch with a hot cup of tea.
Then children happened. There is not rest for the wicked, or for a sick the Mama of two in the suburbs. For a Mom sick on a weekend, there is simply no escape!
*There is no sleeping (it’s fine, I can’t breathe when I’m lying down anyway)
*I managed a short shower but didn’t find time to dry my hair, I’m sure that was great for my fever.
*I was out of daytime cough medicine and feared taking the night time meds. Do you think my children not run wild if I was unconscious?
*The trashiest TV I watched this weekend was Phineas and Ferb. Those naughty boys do get into some trouble! The only reading I’ve managed was on my twitter stream, nothing too controversial!
The reality is a Mom just can’t take an entire day off. Especially on a weekend! Fun fact: There seems to be some magical equation that for every hour a Mom slacks off, it takes three hours to glue your home back together. Besides, sick or not, those little humans we house still require food, help with homework, rides and other life preserving services. As my weekend wraps up I realize the icing on my sick cake; my dear children are now ill and my Hubby has caught the dreaded Man Cold. Perfection. Perhaps now that it’s Monday morning I could sneak a nap?
Ahhh….I remember those days too, but sadly, they are gone for me too. If I get to lie on the couch for 30 minutes while my 4 year old son watches Treehouse and my newborn son sleeps, I call that a victory for me.
Oh Stephanie, where are the selfish thoughts in this post? It sounds to me like you need to put a little bit of “self” in your days/weeks!
Victoria you are too sweet! You may have a point though. Nothing wrong with a little Mama time!
I like this attitude! 😉
Yup you are right, a Mama rarely if ever get’s a sick day. Ugg…… nuf said!
I found myself nodding throughout this whole post. My husband works midnights and sleeps during the day, so when I’m sick, I can’t even rely on him to take over for a couple of hours to get some rest. :/
Lol, this post made me giggle! Off on another tangent, but never a telephone conversation will be had, either!
Now that my kids are grown, I do have the blessing of sick days and sometimes, believe it or not, I miss the wee kids bugging me while I tried to get better!
It’s been almost 20 years for me, I don’t remember what a sick day is.
LOL I remember a sick afternoon once. It was quiet and very therapeutic 🙂
I understand. Thankfully kids go t oSchool or I’d be really screwed.
I surely hope you feel better by now.
Just wait, in a few years you will get a sick day. AND the bonus is that your girls will take care of YOU.
Pinky promise.
Take it easy.
XO
Ahhh Thanks Suz! I feel much better now. I have fab girls and am now taking my turn taking care of my Hubby. Good grief when a man goes down with a cold he goes all out!
No shame in it!! I wish someone would offer me a sick day right now!
Hmmm Maybe a sick day with a book and a sappy movie? Sounds almost fun! LOL
haha its funny i was just talking to my students about this today…
they dont realize how much you lose…sure you gain things
but dont rush into it….smiles.
I often wonder what life would be like if we did it in reverse. Would we appreciate our freedoms as a child more, or hate the restriction’s? (that’s my only deep thought from the Suburbs today. ha
I used to LOVE sick days before kids. Even though I was sick, I would spend my days with Maury Povich and Jerry Springer. I miss those days.
Oh and Oprah!! I remember daytime TV!
I think Moms need to be able to call in a sub! Hope you feel better soon!
Now this is a brilliant idea! 🙂
Ha! I love the one hour off = 3 hours to repair. So true!! Hope you feel better soon 🙂
LOL It’s true right!! It just doesn’t pay to take that one hour. Thanks for the well wishes. Feeling better today. Now if I could just get the rest of the house healthy.
You are so right! I hope you can sneak in lots of rest today and get better soon!!
Thank you! I managed to get 5 hours of solid sleep last night, it’s amazing how much a Mama can do with a little bit of rest. Aiming for 7 hours tonight 🙂
O shame! I feel for you! I know exactly how it goes. In fact, sometimes I think that going to work is a better option than staying at home.
Hope you all get better soon!
Ha!! Okay full confession. There were days when I was leaving my sick Toddler with Hubby at home and heading to the office and thinking how much easier I had it. Feeling much better today, thank you!