No Such Thing as a Sick Day

One thing I never thought about prior to having children was, what do you do when you are sick?  I used to lay in bed or on the couch all day, watch crappy television, and maybe eat a little chicken noodle soup.  As common place as that may sound to all of my "kid-less" friends, if I had to choose between hitting the lottery or spending a sick day in bed, I'd have a lot of questions to ask before making my decision.  How much money would I win?  When would I get the money?  Would I get it soon enough to spend on a nanny while I'm still sick or would I still have to spend my sick day up and about?  A day spent in bed is worth its weight in gold at this point in my life. 

For example, this past Tuesday I woke up with a scratchy throat.  I had that stay in bed all day feeling and I had started coughing a little.  But it didn't matter.  I still had to get up and go to work and do everything else a working mom has to do.  Just to give you an idea, here's a high level summary of my day:

5:40am - Kailee is fussing.  I get up and go into her room and smell a needed diaper change.  Luckily she goes right back to sleep afterwards, but since I am usually up by 6:00 am every morning so there's really no point in going back to bed at this point, as much as every ounce of my being is longing to crawl back under my flannel sheets.

7:00am - Now that I am ready I have to get Kailee up and ready as well.  This used to be a lot easier than it is now.  For some reason putting clothes and a clean diaper on Kailee every morning has become a battle.

7:30am - Leave for work. I drop Kailee off at daycare in the mornings.  I don't like the thought of it being a "drop-off" so I always take her into her room, put her bottles in the fridge and her food on the counter.  Put any diaper and wipes she may need on the changing table.  Chat a minute with the daycare workers and get Kailee started playing with some toys.  I give her a kiss and wave good-bye at the door.  She just recently started waving bye back.  Some days she has a "yeah, whatever Mom" expression and goes straight for her toys.  This morning she had a sad look on her face and didn't seem interested in her toys.  I hate these mornings.

8:00am - Arrive at work. I'm technically early since work doesn't start until 8:30 but it's a busy day! I'm a little behind in things that need done so I have been working through lunch and eating at my desk. I won't bore you with the details of what a day in Internal Audit consists of, but it's busy none the less.

5:30pm - Fortunate enough to actually leave work on time.  However, I could still probably work an additional three hours and still not feel "caught up". I had to leave though because it's off to Krogers I go to pick up some things we need.

6:10pm - Finished at Kroger in record time for me. I still managed to come out with more than the unsweetened frozen berries and plain yogurt I went in for.  And undoubtedly, David will also point this out when I bring the bags into the house.

6:35pm - Finally home.  How great would it be to relax on the couch and watch some TV?  No time to relax though. Little miss Kailee needs some love and attention. I have to cherish the time we do get together because it's not much.

6:50pm - After only 15 minutes, it's time to start Kailee's bedtime routine complete with bath, lotions and creams, bottle, and story.

7:30pm - All tucked in!  I close the door to Kailee's room. I'm super lucky to have a baby that sleeps as well as she does. I doubt it will last forever though. At this time David starts tonight's dinner while I start making the chicken vegetable soup for tomorrow's lunch.  I am thankful that he is able to help out with dinner a lot.  I think he just doesn't like my cooking.  Actually, I KNOW he doesn't like my cooking.

8:15pm - Dinner is ready right as I put the soup on to simmer.

8:40pm - Finished with dinner. I clean up the dishes and start putting together tomorrow's breakfast and snacks. This includes brewing some green tea, finishing the soup, and a bunch of other crap such as cleaning up.  Somehow that always seems to take much longer than it should.

10:15pm - Finally finished with it all. The first time I truly sit down is 15 minutes later as I get into bed. 

Such a long day for not feeling well.  I also wish I could squeeze in some time to work out, but it just doesn't seem possible with my schedule.  Although where I work they did just open a fitness center.  I may consider staying after work, even if it's just for a half hour so I can squeeze in some cardio. 

I know before I've thought back to my childhood and couldn't ever really remember a time when my mom was sick.  However, now that I'm a mom, I realize there were probably plenty of times when she was sick, it's just that motherhood doesn't offer sick days.