Sick Kid = Motherhood Pause Button

Every mother knows that when your child is sick your agenda for the day goes out the window. My kids want to be held, rocked, and kissed all day while they are sick; sometimes, I don’t get out my pjs till mid afternoon.

Alex had fever over 103 for three days with no symptoms when I decided to take him to the pediatrician yesterday.  It’s difficult to manage those high fever illnesses when Acetaminophen doesn’t work for him and we must rely on Motrin alone.  After testing him for the flu and strep-throat, the Dr. determined that it was only the ear infection that caused the high fever for so long and told me that the huge pus pocket in his ear might rupture and drain that night (yay us!).

When one of my kids is sick, I put everything on the to-do list on hold and go with the flow. I return calls between naps or the short time they are occupied watching something on tv; but for the most part nothing in the house gets touched till everyone goes to bed.  The 50min ride to the pediatrician office is also a way for me to return calls but nothing else.

After four days, I am feeling quite unproductive, behind on work, mountains of wash awaiting to be done and a houseful of toys to put away.  In a past life, I would have cringed at the situation, but now…. It’s part of motherhood. I’ve come to accept that when a child is sick it’s ok to hit the PAUSE button on life.  Things will eventually return to normal and the small window of opportunity to hug and love them will close.  Although I’ve slept about 3hrs per night the past 4 nights, I am glad I was there to make him feel better throughout the night.  One day, they will grow and won’t want to be held and cuddled anymore.