It's a universal truth. Being sick is no fun. Feeling miserable, congestion, cough, fever, aches, chills. (Official diagnosis: Influenza.) Nothing about it makes anyone want to voluntarily sign up. But as I sit here on the couch after my fresh dose of Tylenol and dinner of chicken noodle soup, blankets on, hood up, I have been thinking about how illness is just one more thing that motherhood changes. Because as yucky as I feel, my primary thoughts remain:
1. Is my fever, my heart rate, my violent coughing fits, my medication going to in any way be detrimental to Peanut?
2. Am I eating enough and drinking enough to keep Peanut nourished appropriately?
3. I'm just so glad it's me and not Staley.
4. But can I keep Staley from getting this?
5. Will she feel as sad as I do that we didn't see each other all day? That I won't be able to kiss her good-night? That she will probably be getting much more Daddy time and grandparent time than Mommy time over the next few days?
6. How, oh how, do I sanitize myself and our home enough to keep Staley healthy?
7. When will I feel well enough to be a good Mommy again?
There is nothing good about being sick. But just like everything else I've experienced as a mother, things are different now. My thoughts are different. My priorities are different. My concerns are different. But the actual illness...it's not different. Still sucks!
Adelie and Staley's World
