Rude Awakening

Ahhh, we had a good run - a good month with no illnesses.  But I knew I was due.  It couldn't last.  Sure enough, this morning, around 6am, Braden woke up crying and screaming for mommy.  Here we go again.

A quick trip to our pediatrician's morning walk in appointments confirmed an ear infection.  AGAIN!  I swear, this kid has more ear infections than he has colds.  No fever so far, so God, hear my prayer:  please, please, please, let him remain fever free so I can send him to school tomorrow.

This is part of parenthood nobody mentions before you have kids.  Or maybe they do, but you just don't pay attention.  So, if anyone is reading that doesn't have kids yet, listen here (and pay attention):  Kids get sick ALL THE TIME.  And a sick kid = no sleep, no playdates, no public places (it's bad karma), no eating or drinking (and thus a constant exercise of force feeding), and a constant, constant whining.  Then, 10 days later when your kid finally kicks the thing, you get it too, only you can't afford to rest or be sick, so you just deal with it.  And then your other kid gets it, and the whole process starts all over again.

I don't know how working moms do it, especially when their kids are young.  All vacation days are spent taking care of a sick kid!  Which is no vacation.  When I was working, we had a nanny, which was much, much easier than having to keep a kid home from daycare and find back-up help.  But I did have my fair share of emergencies and doctor's appointments.  I can specifically recall being in the middle of a settlement conference, when our nanny called and left a message that Braden had some kind of "moving rash."  Always love to hear that.  I felt I truly could not leave the meeting, so I tried my husband.  We had a brief argument over whose work took priority, and on that particular day I won out.  But if he hadn't been able to go, what would I have done?  I would have skipped out on the meeting, obviously.  But the partners, and the client, would not have been happy.

I guess that's why employers hate to hire moms.  No one says that, of course, and it can't be legal.  But come on, we all know how it is.  When a mom has to call in for the third day in a row because her child has a fever and she can't send the kid to daycare, people get annoyed.  They may understand, but they get annoyed. 

Anyway, for me that ship has sailed.  But now I am left home to ride the waves of illness head on.  And in my years of mommy experience (okay, only 2.5), I have learned a lot about childhood illness.  Illnesses I didn't even know existed (what's that one disease where your cheeks get really red like they have been pinched)?  But not all illnesses are as bad as others.  The illnesses that have hit our home, in ascending awfulness are:

cold -> ear infection -> random fever for no apparent reason -> cold or ear infection with fever -> strep -> croup -> hand, foot, and mouth -> roseola -> stomach flu.  (And each ascending level is not equal, aka, the stomach flu is infinitely worse than any of the others.  Hell hath no fury like the stomach flu). 

I'm sure I have forgotten some.  Or, I will learn of a new one the hard way. 

So this is my Monday.  I'm not sure how many hours of TV are recommended for kids these days (maybe none), but I will be exceeding it today for as long as Braden will allow me.  And poor Sam, my single, gay, best friend from London who is arriving today.  I am sure he will be celebrating the fact that he has no plans of procreation.