A Sick Day for Mom - The True Unicorn of Motherhood
This post has been sponsored by Pfizer Consumer Healthcare.
As a nurse I was exposed to my fair share of germs but nothing, I repeat nothing, would prepare me for the onslaught of germs I would encounter once I became a mother of school-age children. It's because of these germs that the months from October through April are the some of the most feared months in our household.
Not only does the utterance, "Mom, my belly hurts" instill immediate fear down into the deepest, darkest depths of my soul but in case you didn't know, moms don't get sick days.
When the kids are sick, for the sake of this story, moms are usually the ones who stay home with them. They care for them, tuck them in, rub their fevered heads, feed them Popsicles and cater to their every sad, sick little need. When moms gets sick they're quarantined to the couch (not even their own bed!) and everyone basically forgets they even exist until mealtimes. Or if the dog ate a LEGO. Or if somebody can't find the remote, or until somebody hit somebody else, or someone breathed somebody else's air, or... you get my drift.
I can't even remember the last time that I was sick and someone rubbed my back let alone brought me a Popsicle. Actually, that's a lie. I was the sickest I'd ever been in years over the Christmas holiday this year and do you know who brought me magazines to read in bed, fresh Popsicles to soothe my throat and made sure that I had enough blankets, tea and medicine to soothe my every ache?
My mom. Which just goes to show that moms are the true superheros of life.
Moms just shouldn't get sick. For starters they're the only ones in the house who know where things are. Important things like all of the accouterments for the sick. While the chest rub, the thermometer and the throat lozenges may all have been in the same basket in the same cabinet for the last 674 days, the minute mom goes down no one knows where to find them.
Moms also know where everything else is like the books that the middle child took out from the library at school that were due back yesterday and the sight word flash cards that the biggest little needs to cut out and bring to school tomorrow as well as the money envelope for the donut fundraiser that needs to be signed, sealed and delivered to the front office. Accordingly, she also knows where the school's front office is and how to use the intercom to get in the front door...
For those of us who hit the spouse lotto and have better halves who will stand in the gap for us mothers while we are certain death has become us, there are still loads of things that fall under the "I only want mom to do this," realm. These things include but are not limited to adding milk to cereal, putting socks on left feet and wiping butts.
Do you know how you can tell when moms get sick? Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime stock rises exponentially. Kids heads explode at the mere thought of how much TV they'll be encouraged to watch while mom is down for the count but for some reason, suddenly, they want to do anything and everything but watch TV. Things like scale the kitchen counters, explore the wide array of uses for packing tape as well as break into the play-doh and paints closet become priority activities.
Even on the rare occasion that Netflix releases a new series of Disney movies or my husband stays home from work to take over Keeping the Kids Alive Another Day, someone still manages to sneak away and enter the hot zone, just for a snuggle, just to hear my voice, just to make sure I'm still alive and that Daddy won't be making their peanut butter sandwiches with the crust on for the rest of their little lives.
That's why, as a mom, I've nailed it, down to a science, the arsenal of things I need the moment I feel a sickness coming on. When I get sick I rely on the big guns, Advil Cold & Sinus to get me through the day. The #1 pharmacist-recommended brand for cough, cold and flu combinations for daytime, it provides fast relief of my symptoms so that I can get on with my day and get back to being the mom my kids need.
Well, between that, Netflix and $45 of new LEGOS shipped Amazon Prime, it's all I need to keep the drama of a cold from stopping me be who I truly am, a Super Mom to the Bash Brothers three.
How do you handle sick days at home? What are some of your must-haves to make it through the madness? Leave a comment below and you'll be entered to win
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My sick day saving grace is STILL my mom! She always swoops in to take the kids so I can have a day of rest when the stomach bug or a migraine has me down for the count. Moms really ARE superheroes, even if their "babies" are 27 year old mothers themselves :)
ReplyDeleteTry to get my husband to help out more than normal and call my mom to watch the kids. At the start of a cold double up on vitamins.
ReplyDeleteWe had a rough sick season this a Christmas holiday as well! I didn't know I had pneumonia �� - my oldests first year of preschool has just welcomed us to this Oct-April season...only 13+ years to go! My sick supplies also include advil cold and sinus for mom, as well as Vicks rub, saline and nosefrida snotsucker for the kiddos!
ReplyDeleteI love this post. My must haves are simple, I need extra water and more sleep. I try my hardest to wear the kids out so that I can take a nap when they do. I make it a game but I give them more chores to do so it's less work for me. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteSorry my name is Myeshia lejane84@gmail.com
DeleteMy husband is great when I'm sick - he takes over. My must haves are my pillow, couch and essential oils!
ReplyDeleteA humidifier, fluids, fluffy blankets and tissues.
ReplyDeleteI have to have a heating pad and a water bottle nearby. I will sometimes try and take a nap when my daughter is napping.
ReplyDelete