My poor baby is sick. He went to bed slightly congested and woke up (quite early after a restless night) very congested and not at all feeling well. Time to clear the decks for the day to be home and present with a sick kid. I had an injection scheduled for my knee for later this morning, and that’s going to have to wait. It’s not an urgent thing, but something I definitely still plan to do for myself.
My “baby” will be 10 in a couple of weeks and I am thinking… Long gone are the days where cuddle time with mommy would be part of the getting-better protocol. My 7 year old still cuddles when he’s sick or sad, and I plan to cherish that as long as it lasts. I imagine the older a child gets, the more their methods (and moods) around being sick will evolve (or perhaps devolve?). It will be interesting to see how he deals with it today. Meanwhile, my self-care will not take a backseat. It’s not like when my kids were infants and needed my full, undivided attention. Feeling grateful for that!
I plan to focus on hydration for myself (and my kiddo) today. I also plan to get in some yoga; perhaps some journaling, too. If this is something contagious and not allergies, I’d probably better do my best to get caught up on laundry. Haha — caught up on laundry! Perhaps I’ll make a casserole for some easy comfort food. Doing some just-in-case prep while I’m feeling fine can go a long way later. And if I don’t get sick, I’m just that much more ahead!
I’m now thinking about a previous post I wrote, “Moms are allowed to take a sick day”. My point in that post, as the title states is that moms are allowed to get sick. Allowed… I am discovering more and more that if I give myself permission in advance not to beat myself up about something it helps. Getting sick after a family member in the same household is sick is totally logical, right? Not something to beat myself up over. And yet it still happens.
Anyway, back to the present… I realize having a sick kid staying home from school is a pretty regular part of this whole parenting thing. I’m just attempting to plant some more mindfulness around it. How you show up for any given parenting scenario directly impacts everyone around you; and most importantly, your own sanity. Going to leave it here. Short and sweet today. Stay well, mamas!
Cherish yourself: When your child is sick, make a plan with yourself about how you’re going to take care of yourself, too. Could be as simple as drink water and go outside to take 10 deep breaths.