Mommy Sick Mode

Child 1 and Child 3 got sick at the same time but with two, very different things. Child 3's was painful and long lasting. Child 1 got an antibiotic and was at school the next day. Child 3 was sick and crying for a week. Child 2 jumped on the scene with Child 3's illness about halfway through Child 3's recovery, extending mommy sick mode by another 4 to 5 days.

Mommy sick mode...
No continuous sleep longer than 2.5 hours.

No continuous sitting longer than 10-15 minutes.

Medicine locator, dispenser, log keeper.

Magician...be able to open tiny packets of medication at 2 o'clock in the morning after having had 1.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep, making sure to read tiny writing on tiny packet first, to double check dosage.

Pharmacist...must know amount of medicine to give based on weight and age, dosage times, what medicines interact with others to be the most beneficial to child.

Creative cook...must creatively think of things that child will eat, make them over and over again, time this well with medication so child feels good enough to eat it.

Line cook...make many different items with one bite eaten from them and then turned down, time this well with medication so child feels good enough to eat that one bite. Don't forget to cook dinner for those healthy family members.

Angel...do not ever lose patience with sick children. It is not their fault, combat the ceaseless whining and crying with hugs, kisses and love.

Entertainer...think of things that sick child can do while spending a week at home, miserable.

Teacher...help child make up mountain of work that has been missed, time this well with medication so child feels good enough to do it.

Interpreter...discern meaning of hand gestures and grunts.

Germ eradicator...wash sheets and pj's in hot water to ensure elimination of evil germs, wipe down all counters multiple times a day, clean bathrooms, don't forget door handles or toilet handles used repeatedly by sick child

These duties are in addition to other errands, chores and parenting of a teenager girl. Fear not, mommy sick mode is saved only for those illnesses with a duration longer than your average ear infection, strep throat or vomiting in the middle of the night illness. There are other lists for those types of illnesses.

But truly, this should be easy...I'm a stay home mom after all. What else do I have to do?

Now, why I am grateful...
I have money to buy medicine. I have money to buy a variety of foods to try on the sick ones. I don't have to miss a week and a half of work to care for sick ones. I have a big enough bed for all the sickies when snuggle time is a necessity in the middle of the night. I know they WILL get better. This is a virus not a life threatening disease. I have toys, video games and books galore to entertain them. It is not Thanksgiving day. My husband will come home and tell me that I am awesome. The teenage daughter still comes home from school and gives me a big hug and tells me that she loves me. Life is good.

Conversations over Halo

My boys just started playing Halo--the old one, with aliens. They love it, I love their conversations.

J: I have to go to the bathroom. N: ok (J returns) N: I had to kill you. I needed your gun. J: See what happens when a guy takes care of his business! Jeesh!

N: Follow my orders and you won't die. J: You are ONLY the boss of me in this game.

N: Come to where my bombs are and stay put. J: Can I fire at the bad guys? N: Yeah just don't die.

N: Mom do you see how diligently I am working? Me: Yes, good job getting those aliens. J: Mom, I'm what Nathan said too. Me: Good job bud.

To Be Continued...the soldiers are in the tub.

Happy Boo Boo

Humor in adversity is a hard concept to teach. I might even go so far as to say that it is unteachable. You either have it or you don't. The people who inherently know how to turn something difficult into something funny are happier. They get along better with others. I have a child who does this and I wasn't aware of how well she does this, until last night. It was the homecoming dance for her high school. She is a freshman and, as your average freshman would tell you, nerves can be a factor when you are the newbie going to your first big dance. Her dress--beautiful, make up--just right, hair style--fashionable and pinky toe--bleeding profusely. We put pressure on it, taped it, bandaged it and it just kept bleeding. She was invited to a neighbor friend's house for dinner and pictures beforehand. She was very late due to this bleeding toe. We finally bandaged it as tightly as we could and headed over. Sure enough, bled right through. This has been an hour of bleeding people--enough already! Thankfully these are close friends and weren't too squeamish about propping her foot up and rebandaging it. It was bleeding as if it had first happened.

After 15 minutes of more pressure and knowing that it was only 20 minutes until the dance started, I saw it start to happen. Her eyes were tearing up and she said, "It's ok mom, I can just stay home. I don't mind." This kid was going to the dance if I had to cauterize the stupid toe myself! I looked at her and said, "Bek now is the time you pray. Ask for God to help us find a way to fix that little toe so that you can go." I don't know what she said inside that gorgeous head of hers but she did look away for a minute or two. I sprayed this new stuff on it--liquid bandage and the bleeding stopped. I wrapped it tightly with gauze, bandages and tape. It was huge but it wasn't bleeding. Of course her shoes were sandals and that pinky toe was hard to miss.

This 14 year old freshman smiled, drew a happy face on her toe with sharpie and named it "Happy Boo Boo". She said, "Mom, next year everyone is going to want one." She went to that dance with her head held high and came home smiling, laughing and glowing. She had a blast.

Her humor in adversity is making her a very happy person. You rock Bekkah.