Sickness and Motherhood…

For anyone out there who has encountered the seasonal flu or a head cold…it sucks. There is nothing awesome about it. In some instances, it feels debilitating. During these times, I often reflect on those that suffer from chronic pains, ailments, and diseases. I wonder how they make it through their daily suffering of pain, exhaustion and dare I say…loneliness?

For the first time since having the Snorting Warthog, I have found myself “out for the count.” I successfully contracted a cold/flu bug that lasted around 48 to 72 hours (literally, thank God, it didn’t last longer!). The daily wonder (and work) of being a full time caregiver to two children of different ages is a blessing, as well as an opportunity to give everything I am made of on a daily basis (especially when I became sick).

Neither child seemed to be sick nor was my husband (thankfully). I don’t know if it was a combination of not getting enough sleep (thank you to interruptions throughout the night) or not getting enough exercise/vitamins (or a combination of both). But this bout of illness really gave me pause. For starters TBF is getting ready to start a period of time off from work, so this week was “all hands on deck.” I didn’t have the option of having my spouse call off to help me with the kids. Nor do I have the option of calling a family member to come and assist/entertain/whatever. Many family members mean well and want to help, but are plagued by their own personal obligations and time restraints. Others don’t want to be inconvenienced or get sick themselves. Of the few friends that I have made since having moved, most work, and many have young families of their own that don’t want to expose themselves to someone else’s germs (and quite honestly I wouldn’t’ ask anyone outside of family anyways).

For anyone out there that has a core group of “johnny-on-the-spot” helpers…be thankful. Tell them you appreciate them. Recognize them. Give them gifts when given the opportunity as a way to show them you appreciate them. Pray for them (they are probably praying for you, too). Appreciate what you have, because to many people this is a rare jewel.

I definitely don’t want to be a burden to anyone but this past week showed me how challenging my job was. I felt guilty just sitting in front of the boob-tube almost all day, because all I wanted to do was sleep, rest, and recover (but my two little friends were distracting me from any type of “get-well-ness”). Their energy and neediness for every moment of their day is quite normal, but in my selfishness, I just wanted someone to take care of me. It was a low point for me overall as a mom.

I don’t know how many others are out there that feel similar to me. Disconnected and lonely at times. But the only thing that I know to do about this is to really try to be there for others in my life the way I want someone to be there for me. However, it can be hard, as my main focus is being consumed by two growing, precious people.

Favorite memory while I was trying to get rest…My three year old took every loud toy (one at a time) in to the room I was in and demonstrated each sound feature…did I mention I had a headache that made my head feel like it was in a vice? She was definitely trying to help me get better, but I could have thought of a lot of other ways she could have been more successful…