I was supposed to write for Midwest Parents yesterday, and I apologize to my co-writers for missing the assignment. I have an excuse, but you'll have to read to the end to get to it.
Let me start by saying we were blessed with a healthy winter. Once my son got out of the hospital with pneumonia on Halloween, we didn't face any illnesses in the family except for a 12-hour bug on Christmas Day in a hotel in Pennsylvania that ran its course and then ran away. While the rest of the community was sniffling and sneezing and coughing, we somehow remained unscathed.
Until last weekend. It all started with a sore throat on Sunday, and by Monday I was sick. I didn't have a fever, so I suppose it wasn't really flu, but it hit me like a ton of bricks. Since mommies don't get sick days, I did the next best thing: curled up on the couch and let the girls watch TV most of the day, and forced my 5-year-old to nap with me after lunch before returning to the TV. It's not the best plan, but what else is a sick mommy to do?
Tuesday I moved from the sofa occasionally, and by Wednesday I felt well enough for a quick run to town for some essentials. My coughing hadn't subsided completely, but I was beginning to feel human again.
Meanwhile, my desk and the dishes and the laundry were piling up because I'd ignored them for three days.
By the weekend, I thought I was in the clear, so I planned a shopping trip for Monday, ironically to stock up on some supplies in case this swine flu takes off and I begin to avoid public places. (This shopping trip was apparently doomed from the start, because I picked St. Cloud (80 miles) over Mankato (50 miles) and Eden Prairie (60 miles) because it had the trifecta of stores that I needed. Only problem is that one of the stores closed about six months ago. Oops.)
But I digress. As I was shopping with the girls, I had a strange feeling. Breathe in. Ouch! Cough cough. Breathe in. Ouch. Breathe out. Breathe in. Ouch. And so on. Other than this hurts-when-breathing thing, I felt pretty much ok.
Partly because I had only two children in tow, which is Monday-specific, and partly because we've half-lived at the clinic for the past eight years and I know all the questions they're going to ask, I figured it was time to see the doctor. Our local clinic fit me in as soon as I could get there.
The answer was what I'd half-expected: pneumonia. Not a bad case, but not go-away-you're-imagining-things either. So I have medications and a lot of people telling to to be sure to get a lot of rest.
Including my mom, who said: "Is someone taking the kids so you can get some rest?"
Yeah, right. She must have forgotten that mommies don't get sick days, at least not if their own mommies live six hours away.
But I did put Hubby in charge of bedtime and settled in early with my codeine-laced cough syrup, instead of writing my post last night.
I hope you'll forgive me.
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4 comments:
Mommies never get sick days! I hope this pneumonia goes by quickly and that you are up and back to health soon!
Yep, I agree. Everyone else in the universe can take a sick day if absolutely needed, but mom still has to get out of bed and be responsible to at least a "minor" degree: turn tv on, get drinks of water, set out boxes of crackers, lock the doors, remember kids' names, etc. while perched on the couch with one hand full of advil and a kleenix up the nose. Great post!
Good grief, woman! PNEUMONIA? Now I feel like a real whiner for taking a "day off on the couch" yesterday for just being tired! *wink*
I think pneumonia qualifies as a good excuse! ;) Better than my excuses of "I forgot! Whoops!"
I'm lucky though. If I really feel like I can't take care of the kids I call my retired father to come and watch them for me...and he usually agrees to do it!
Hope the medicine kicks in and you're better quickly!
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