When the house has been hit with illness, who comes to the bedside with tender care? When a child has skinned their knee who is placing a band aid on the "boo boo" and making it all better? Mommy does....OK, dad's too. I'm not trying to discredit the daddies but let's talk about moms for a sec, k? So, where was I? Oh, yes.....you can find mommy running around taking care of her family, bringing calmness in the home and all coughs, sneezes and "boo, boos" treated. Us mom's are running around so much that I have actually considered doing something that some may laugh at. I have considered wearing a fanny pack in my home just for the purpose of efficiency. That's right, a fanny pack. I figured that if I were to wear a fanny pack then I could fully care for my family in the quickest way. Does someone need a tissue? BAM, there you go! Does someone need a band aid? BA-BAM, there YOU go! and does someone need a cracker? Well, BAM! It just seems like the right thing to do in order to get my kids the things they need in the fastest possible way while saving myself from running all over the house and possibly losing my mind in the process. I don't know about you but my kids are ALWAYS asking for something and they tend to take turns asking. For example, my son will want a drink and so I ask my daughter if she wants one as well and she says no. So, I go and get my son the drink and what do ya know but my daughter demands one as well. Or they want snack at different times etc. It's a never ending game which brings me back to the reason for the fanny pack....don't laugh.
So, if mommy is always busy keeping all the puzzle pieces of a home in place then what happens if mommy gets sick? What will be of a family that is use to mommy waking them up in the morning, mommy getting their meals prepared and mommy doing their laundry? Will they survive??? Let me fill you all in on what life has been like in my home for the past week. Folks, this mommy has been sick...REALLY sick and my ability to keep things intact finally failed and let's just say things got....um, messy. First, I started feeling feverish, although I never got a fever, and my body started aching and tingling. Then my throat started hurting. It felt like I had swallowed razor blades. This sore throat was also accompanied by laryngitis which means my voice box was done. I could barely talk and for me this would mean that I was about to be taken over. I couldn't let my kids know that I was losing the one thing that got their attention. I use my voice and often times my voice is the reason the kids stop fighting or they head to bed. I get loud. So, here I am, nervous as my voice is fading and my kids are getting more wild by the second. Once my voice was gone all hell broke loose. My 2 yr old hit the 4 yr old and my 4 yr old pushed the 2 yr old....even my 4m old chimed in with a cry. I tried to say something but the pain was too great. I retracted, holding my throat and grimacing at each attempt to swallow. The kids had won. I was in too much pain and felt too weak to battle.
My home became a war zone; dishes in the sink, laundry piling up, toys scattered across the floor and food all over the couch, table and who knows where else. I cringed at the look of my home. My personal diagnosis of OCD was kicking in and I was ready to jump out of my skin at the chaos. My husbands long hours left him little time to help so it was basically on me to try and keep things a float. I wanted to be taken care of....just for a moment. My husband tried to take care of me; giving me Tylenol, water and then letting me rest in our room....the only problem was he left the door open and the kids came charging in. I had an infant nursing, a 2 yr old drawing on my foot and my 4 yr old begging me to read to him. What happened to dad?! I was under attack!! I was forced to read a book- which I'm sure I made up the words since I don't remember reading it- and I was subjected to marker scribbles all over my foot. If someone could of heard my thoughts they would have heard me scream HELP!!! Hubby came running in shortly after and blamed his distraction on a necessity to see the score of a game. Awesome.
My husband had the kids left and for a moment there was silence. The sweetest thing I had experienced all day was the absolute absence of sound. I could hear my breathe as I exhaled and I could hear the gentle tapping of the wind on my window. That's it, nothing else. This was great!! Just as I was drifting off into sleepy sleep I heard the loudest sound that startled me. My lovely 4 yr old had dropped his (toy) bowling bowl from the top of our stairs and managed to have it crash down on the side of the wall. The kids started screaming with laughter.
My appearance coming down my stairs was one from a horror flick, I'm sure. My eyes were bloodshot, my hair was a mess, and I was wearing an oversized robe stuffed with booger infested tissue....ew, right? I was followed to the couch by my family trying to tend to me the best they could. As I sat there I looked around at the house turned upside down, the kids munching on crackers and cheese for dinner- compliments of chef daddy- and all the kids in mix matched pajamas. My husband tried to care for me and the kids and I appreciated that. I realized, though, that mommy somehow finds super human powers within herself to manage the household, kids and hubby especially in a time when their sick. So, who will take care of mommy? Probably your hubby and kiddos, trying to make it right so that mommy can get back to normal and things are back in place. So long to the days when mommy was a child and chicken soup, cozy resting sessions and peace and quiet was the agenda for the day. Even as sick as I was I laughed at my families efforts to make me better. I asked my oldest to get me a tissue and so he did. He came back with a wet nap.....you know, the wipe we use to clean our babies bottoms with. Um, yeah......At that very moment I got a great idea....that fanny pack plan came back in my mind and I realized I could use it for the things I need too!! Mommy CAN be taken care of!!!! Tissues? YES! Medicine? YES! Ear plugs? Yes, YES, Yes!! Problem solved!
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