Its 7am, I'm sitting on my bed, still wearing pajamas, leaning up against the wall, watching the light in the room start to get get brighter and brighter as the sun comes up. The baby, 8 months old and sick with a cold, is sleeping under the sheets next to me, snuggling my raggedy childhood teddy bear. I know Jingles, the bear, needs a bath, but I'm afraid that running him through the wash would loosen the last of his threads. The scene right now kind of reminds me of the Velveteen Rabbit. A weird take on it, but the general storyline just popped into my head.
Usually when I sit down to write a dramalogue, I'm giggling at the words in my head before they've even hit the screen. I've usually got a silly story to tell, or at least a humorous ramble to take its place. But this morning, after a rough reaction to an antibiotic, double infections invading my personal space, and a house full of sick babies (and a soon to be sick husband, I'm sure), all I can bring my fingers to type is gratefulness.
I'm grateful for sick days. Letting the kids watch cartoons all day. Serving sippy after sippy after sippy. Dealing with tantrums that I know are most likely being caused by the runny nose. I'm grateful for blankets and pillows and soft pajama pants. Its all a blessing. Since the house is quiet, and everyone is still sleeping (although starting to stir, and will probably be awake before I can even upload a picture to go with my notes), I can look at it all with a positive outlook. I'm lucky to be able to stay home with the kids, even if they are sucking every ounce of energy out of me. Its a pleasure to be making these memories.
How can I make a sick day for a 3 year old fun? The 8 month old is easy, keep him constantly engaged, hand him my cell phone (man he loves that thing), never put him down... done, hes happy. But the 3 year old? Lots of Strawberry Shortcake (the character, not the food), maybe some Shrek, and... I don't know, suckers? Suckers are good for you right (they're organic!)? They have um, vitamins?
Its 7:32 now. How it took me half an hour to write a couple of paragraphs about sick kids and suckers, I'm not sure. But like I said earlier, the kids are stirring, and its time to wipe away my "awww, life is beautiful" face, replace it with my mom face, change some diapers, make some oatmeal, read the same books over and over again, and take a hundred and three pictures to preserve it all.
It's awesome you can have such a positive outlook on it! The last "ick" to tear through our place was strep and it wasn't pretty. Worst of all, I felt like crap and wasn't in the mood for anyone one else's bad mood! Hope you all feel better soon :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Tia... I hope you and the family are feeling better soon. I must stop and be greatful more often. The next time the sickness hits our place, I'll remember this posting and be thankful :) It is afterall what being a mom/parent is all about.
ReplyDeleteI love that you can find the humor in all that makes up life. It even sounds like you are hanging on to your sanity through it all.
ReplyDeleteHello, I wanted to leave a comment for you because I've really enjoyed having a nose around your site. You have great pictures and you write really well too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing and best wishes, have a lovely weekend
As a kid I loved sick days, I didn't get sick often but the thought of being able to snuggle into the couch and watch cartoons or movies with my mom all day long made the actual sickness tolerable. I always secretly thought my mom liked that time with me as well....
ReplyDeleteAw, you are so much more positive than me. When my kids are sick, I go into EXTRA-loving mom mode. Granted, I always love my kids, but my mom babied me to death when I was sick and I loved that. I'm happy to return the favor in the form of treating my babies like royalty when they don't feel good. It makes life so much easier.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, I read my post and it didn't make much sense.. you are more positive than me - as I baby my sick-o kids, I'm not necessarily loving life!!
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