The Elusive Sick Mom

Photo Credit: Tiny White Daisies

Im on the hunt for the elusive sick mom. She is a very hard creature to find. Unlike the sick dad who you can find curled in the fetal position on the couch or bed moaning  she is a master of camouflage. You have probably seen her and not even realized it. A sick mom looks like any other mom. She is walking around, driving her kids everywhere, making dinner, doing laundry, all with a smile on her face. I think it is an inherent characteristic that all females are born with, an instictive survival technique.

As you know, moms don't have time to be sick. The world doesn't stop, waiting for us to get better. We don't have paid sick days to recover. No, we have a 24/7 job that never stops. I envy my husband and also have to resist the urge to hurt him! When he is sick, he mopes around, has me to take care of him, and gets paid to just lay there doing nothing. How unfair is that?

I wish I did have a sick day sometimes. Just one, I'm not being greedy or anything. For me, at least one good nights sleep, one morning of not having to rush, and one day of being able to rest can do wonders. It recharges my battery and I'm back to being 100%. That's also another survival trait of a mom, we take less time to recover because there is no other option. The demands of our lives will rise up and devour us otherwise.

Thats a little dramatic Ashley. Maybe maybe not. The following scenario is based on true events. Imagine with me, a sick mom who has a fever, congestion, upset stomach, and just feeling overall crappy. Her darling husband cannot leave work early. She manages to pack a lunch for and get one child to school on time. That leaves her with the toddler, who is very busy and not into watching anything for longer then the theme song. She forgoes laundry, dusting, straightening up, and making sure that the toddler doesn't make like a tornado with the toys. Finally naptime comes, I've made it she thinks! Dinner should be prepped right now, and emails should be answered. But, mom decides to lay on the couch, with a cup of tea, and begins to doze. Cue toddler to wake up early from nap, so much for resting. She drags herself upstairs to get him and again lets him play Godzilla verse the toys. Now it is time to pickup child number one and let the fighting begin. Dinner is not going to happen tonight so she picks up chick fil-a, feeds the kids, and tries to hold on until her relief walks through the door. Husband is home, but the kids need baths, one more hurdle to go. Finally, bedtime for the kids and mom.

The next day she wakes up feeling better but all the things she let fall by the wayside yesterday are there, staring at her dauntingly. Laundry and dishes are everywhere. She's pretty sure they weren't there yesterday, how in the world did so much accumulate in 24 hours? Darling toddler thinks he can repeat behavior from yesterday, not happening says mom. She spends her day battling laundry, dishes, behavior issues, random messes, unanswered emails, etc. At the end of the day she is exhausted and decides not pushing through the sickness yesterday was a bad idea. It doubled her workload the following day, and for me her, it wasn't worth it!

*Shudder*

That brings me to my point. I want to propose paid take care of your wife when she is sick days for men. Who's with me?! Then maybe the elusive sick mom will actually come out of hiding and get the rest she needs!