I hadn’t been feeling well and the family knew it. They stayed quiet in the morning to let me sleep. Once I started to stir, here walks in a family member with breakfast in bed and my favorite flavored coffee. I thought how wonderful it was that the room was the perfect temperature and my slippers were still right next to my bed where I left them. As I finish up breakfast, my love walks in to tell me that he ran me a bath and that he was going to take the kids to the store so I could turn on my music and not be disturbed. I sink into the tub, with my favorite mellow music playing in the background. With a towel under my neck, I drift off while my body repairs itself peacefully.
Just then I wake up for real. The room is freezing because the two munchkins in the bed have commandeered the covers and my pillow. Hanging on for dear life, I relinquish the last corner of the covers and roll over to get out of bed. Where are my slippers? The hard wood floors are cold! Oh yeah, they must have been wearing them around the house. After searching for them for a good ten minutes, I find one in a toy box and the other in my daughter’s’ bed, still on her foot. After sneaking to reclaim my slippers, I shuffle into the kitchen and make breakfast for the family, who are still fast asleep.
Of course the house wakes to the smell of breakfast and they all rush me at the stove spilling the only cup of coffee my single-serving coffee maker made for me. “I love these kids, I love these kids” is my mantra as I clean up the mess. Running around like chickens with their heads cut off, the silence has escaped out the back door and the once serene environment has turned into a battle zone. My head is foggy as I am cleaning up after breakfast. I make the statement that I need to take a bath to try to break up the pressure in my skull. “I wanna bath! I wanna bath too! I wanna bathe with YOU!” rings out of the mouths of my precious children.
After filling the tub and sinking down in the water, I am met with little eyes peering over the edge of the tub wanting to discuss quantum physics and the universe. The smell of the candle, recently blown out by the youngest, has gone away when the other decides to poop on the toilet next to me. After playing 21 (million) questions with them, I decide the bath has turned into a trap of which I can’t escape. With my toes, I pull the plug and let the water start flowing out of the tub. I stand up and wrap a towel around myself and head to my bedroom, where you might think one would have privacy. But when you are a mom of toddlers, nothing is private.
I tell you all this to tell you that if you are blessed to get a sick day, TAKE IT! Have someone get the kids and take the quiet. Sleep in, enjoy your coffee (the whole cup) and escape into a tropical oasis in the bath. Because, honestly, when you are sick, it’s like there is a barrier up in which no one else can tell you don’t feel well. You are a vision of health and energy, even with the tissue sticking out of one nostril and your messy mom bun in disarray. Yoga pants and an old t-shirt covered by an old ratty robe are a vision of ball gowns and extravagant parties in your families eyes. We don’t get sick days, we get patience training days instead. I love my family more than life itself and wouldn’t change it for the world. Honestly, it makes me appreciate my mom just a little more.
Let me know in the comments how you handle your most worn out days and what makes them all worthwhile.