The brink of what? You decide.
1. Sunday night: figured out that the kid who was maybe-sick was really-sick. Canceled Monday plans.
2. Monday morning: took six-year-old to sick bay because we suspected strep, ran to pharmacy to get the antibiotics because, though her throat was very streppy-looking, the quick test came back negative. Despite her being sick, still finished manuscript as I had planned (though it took a far different commitment of time than what I had planned).
3. Tuesday: kept fevered child home from school, noted that three-year-old was acting symptomatic. Finished parish bulletin draft, submitted manuscript to publisher, drank a lot of tea, kept a remnant of sanity and laughed more than I expected to.
4. Tuesday night: three-year-old up multiple times for potty breaks; baby up multiple times for company and eating and coughing.
5. Wednesday, sometime before 6 AM: “Mommy, I want to get up now.” (How can the three-year-old be awake? Can’t she time it with the baby?) I invite her to my bed, because it seemed like a good idea at the time. Six-year-old, ever suspicious of anyone else being awake when she is not, comes in and asks if we can go downstairs. “No! Lay down on Daddy’s side!” (This is a treat. I am territorial about my bed. I don’t judge those of you who share your beds with your kids; I just don’t. Sleep is not optional in my house: sharing my bed usually means I don’t get sleep. And this time, that’s exactly what happened.)
6. Wednesday, 6:15 AM: Baby does his little “I’m going to wake up now” cough. I begin extracting myself from bed. Girls jump up. Coughing begins all around me. I wonder if I should strip beds or just call it good.
7. No, I’m not going to give you the play-by-play of the rest of the week. I just want to point out that at 6:20 AM on Wednesday, I had no idea that by noon, I’d be thanking God for the day. I had no idea that at 12:52 PM, I’d be in my van, saying an out-loud thank you prayer to God. I had a chance to run errands that, while not critical, did allow me to get out of the house (without the kids!). And then, later in the day, I had niece visitors who amused the girls, rocked the baby, and allowed me some laptop time. God may not micromanage, but he has a plan. And it’s WAY better than mine.
You’ll find other lists of seven (in the form of Quick Takes) over at Conversion Diary today.
Oh, I feel for you! May health, healing, peace and a few mommy moments be yours!
Ahhhh, the joys of motherhood – sleep is all too overrated anyway – lol.
Gotta love it when school starts and first child goes skipping off, only to bring everything home from school, including all the germs from the sinks. And, being the ever mindful child that we hope they are, they share (yes, I said share) everything they bring home. Afterall, we taught them from a young age to share, didn’t we?
Hang in there, this too will pass. It does make those all too few and far between moments that much more sweeter. And thank God for nieces who live close and don’t mind sharing – lol.
Wish we lived closer — I would definitely take my turn sharing.
Hooray for a God that provides and cares for better than we could ever imagine!