Sick Mama

As mothers, we are the ones that keep our household running like a well oiled machine but when mom gets sick everything seems to come to a screeching halt. Most good husbands/partners try their best to pick up the slack but it's not the same as the way you run things.Inevitably,  frozen burritos will be served for dinner and very little/ if anything, will be cleaned or picked up around the house, but thinking of this may just make you feel sicker.

This Sunday my daughter and I fell victim to a brutal stomach flu which put us totally out of commission. In the midst of my multiple trips to the bathroom my son asked me if we would be able to go to the YMCA swimming pool tonight?! Um, nope. Children operate from a place of "mom's always up doing stuff and taking care of us, what's the deal?" I found myself laying in bed flanked with both kids just wanting to be with me even though I felt (and probably looked) like death. My husband would periodically ask me if I needed anything but mostly stayed away, which was fine because I didn't want him catching this awful bug. We all know what it's like when men get sick...

There are very few illnesses that truly put moms down for the count but the stomach flu is definitely one of them. I find myself plugging along through colds on minimal sleep, feeling miserable but I can't just stop what I'm doing and take a nap, no way! Luckily, this flu was 24hours so as soon as I regained  a little energy I found myself feebly shuffling around the house in my bathrobe  "trying" to do things. Gotta pick up the house and put everything back in order, am I programmed robot or what?! Within 15 minutes of my first task I was sitting on the couch with jell-o legs.

We as mothers are so accustomed to taking care of everyone and everything else and having ourselves fall to the wayside.  Getting sick makes you stop and  take notice and care of yourself. It's kind of funny to see the reactions of my kids and husband when they realized I was really sick, it's like a deer in head lights but eventually, they got it and moved through the day as best as they could, counting the minutes until I was better (so things can get back to normal).

Laying there in bed for hours got me thinking, why do I have to get sick to lay around and watch a movie or catch up on the shows on my DVR? Should I play sick once in awhile or should I just demand some down time for myself? I also thought about the role that it put my husband in, not totally comfortable running the show, but it gave me the peace of mind to know he could do it  and probably gave him a little boost of confidence in the process. So mamas, don't wait until you're sick to take a break do it when you're well so you can really enjoy it. You may get a deer in head lights look at first but it'll pass.