Sick Mommy

I've been sick for about 48 hours.  I'll spare you the details, but essentially I'm out of commission.  Over the last year, I've had chronic pain, but whereas my body was begging for a break, my mind and my mommy-ness were fully intact and fully able to rise above the pain to be a pain in the ass rear end of my family. 

But this is different. 

I'm pretty sure that my house could be on fire right now, and I'd probably stay on this couch and at least consider the pros and cons of getting up before making a commitment to action. 

I have noticed a few things in the past couple days:

1. Even when a mom is sick, there is no number to call in for a sick day.  WHAT IS UP WITH THAT.
2. The kids ate fruit snacks for breakfast. And dinner.  Don't worry - they didn't starve.  They all ate at least 3 packages.
3. Adelai's hands can get seriously filthy.
4. Somehow, despite the lack of effort from mom, the kids look happier. (Probably directly related to #2?)  
5. Being sick allows an opportunity to see the empathy developing in children.  Rarely does the mom get that perspective.  When Justin heard that I was sick, he said all the things he had heard me say to him just a few days earlier....("Mommy, it's okay. You'll feel better soon. You'll be okay. Love you Mommy.")  And then, he looked at me with the biggest brown eyes ever and said, with the pure heart of a three year old, "Mommy, do you want me to take you to the doctah on my scootah?" 
6. I almost let Chris take Adelai to daycare today without a visual check.  On the way out the door, I realized she was dressed in a skirt and a dress.  Together.  At the same time.  And he was offended that I found this to be a problem. 
7. It is possible to miscommunicate with a man about the purpose for a bath.  It is not enough to say "how about a bath?" as an idea to prepare a fussy toddler for bed time.  You actually have to say "with soap" to clarify that it is a "cleaning bath".  Unfortunately I did not understand there was a possibility for a non "cleaning bath". 
8. My ideas of how to take care of myself have seriously eroded over the course of motherhood.  Drinking a 24 oz iced coffee to make all things better?  Bad idea. 

So I don't really have anything funny or witty to say here.  I just wanted to point out that when a mother becomes sick, the world needs, by necessity, to come to a complete halt until a mother can hold down her iced coffee. 

Otherwise, your dirty toddler wearing a dress and a skirt will eat packages and packages of fruit snacks and finish her day in a tub of water, sans soap. 

Mommy is sick! Hooray!