Tag sick

It Was the Best of Times…

curlymamaof2 2 Comments

In a recent writing prompt, it was asked to describe when the phrase, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” accurately described life.

Now.

Now is when that phrase is so appropriate.

I am on a great running streak, day 73, in fact. I’m almost there in terms of hitting my mileage goal for the year. Yet, I feel the goals slipping away as the icy grip on my throat starts to take hold. It burns when I cough. I try to keep quiet and still; willing myself to not be sick.

I can’t be sick. Not now. Not when I’m rounding the corner to the finish line.

This sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks this sucks.

No, in terms of real life stuff, this doesn’t even show up on the radar.

I’m not willing to let go of 73 days of continuous streaking. I’m not even ready to give up my 500 miles for the year quite frankly, although I better get well fast because I need to go nearly 4 miles a day to hit that goal. Here’s the deal: my legs have carried me 395 miles so far. I just have a little more to go. My annual miles are nearly 100 more miles than I’ve ever run in any year. Anything I do at this point is better than what I’ve done in the past, so there is that.

This process has taught me a few things:

*Running daily keeps the winter blues away. (And yes, even in Texas, it is possible to feel the winter blues.)
*There is always time to squeak in at least a mile. When you can do it everyday for 100 days, you can find the time every day.
*If something is important, you’ll make the time for it. If you want it bad enough, you will find a way to make it happen.
*Some days are just better than others. In running, in parenting, and every other facet of life. Ride out the rough miles to get to the really great ones!
*Everyone needs something, that “thing” that is only theirs. Alone time, meditation, prayer, running, yoga – whatever it is that charges your batteries – you need it. You. Need. It. Everyone is a better person when their self-care is in check.

I have 27 days left to reach my 100th. I know there’ll be gems tucked in those runs, just waiting for me to scoop them up and tuck them away.

Here’s to stillness, quiet, medicine, rest, and plugging though even the seemingly “worst” of times to get to the “best” of finishing this year!

Beyond Gratitude

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Taking my son to the doctor has never been easy. Aside from the usual vaccinations which of course are unpleasant, from the time he had to have a blood draw at 18 months old, every appointment since has been awful. (The blood draw was done by a person who couldn’t find a vein – 4 times.) And by awful, I don’t just mean inconvenient. Awful to the point that he cowered on the floor hiding in fear under chairs, full on meltdown freak-outs. It was so bad at one appointment that the doctor recommended we have him evaluated for Autism spectrum disorders.

It was a crushing recommendation and one we did not take lightly. It is a horrible feeling knowing your child is terrified, and doesn’t trust you to realize that as his parent, you aren’t going to let anything bad happen to him.  Through the process (he is not on the spectrum) and his growth since that appointment, I am constantly reminded that he is simply a kid that does things in his own time. 

Fast forward to the past two weeks of all three of us being sick and we’ve been to the doctor for pink eye. It was as if he was a different boy. I told him that we had to go to the doctor for his eye. There would be no shots, but the doctor would have to look at his eye and ask me some questions. I also asked him if he would like to bring his favorite video to show the doctor. (He actually likes to just hold the DVDs!) It worked! He chatted up the doctor like they were old friends. I found myself feeling very proud, and overwhelmed with gratitude as I watched the interaction.

And then we had to go again today. (I’ve had enough, it’s been a week, my teeth hurt, and we aren’t improving.) Off all three of us traipsed to our new clinic’s urgent care. I was anticipating a frustrating appointment with all of us feeling yucky, waiting in a waiting room for who knows how long, and then culminating in Jake not cooperating. I wasn’t exactly trying to expect the worst, but rather bracing myself. I’m usually an optimist by nature, but I have learned by experience to expect the unexpected.

Again, I was humbled by and proud of his behavior. Luckily we were the only ones in the office, had no wait and both kids cooperated beautifully. If anything I am grateful for this round of sickness, because it gave my son two positive experiences with going to the doctor. It also helped that when the doc looked in my ear, both kiddos saw that Mama was fine, it didn’t hurt and there was no need to be afraid. Hannah fussed just a bit, but then Jake leaned up right next to her, rubbed her back and said, “It’s okay. You don’t have to be afraid. You can be brave like me.”

More than thankful, it goes way beyond gratitude.  Yes, it makes appointments so much smoother, but more importantly, I am thankful that my son seems to be letting go of fear.

Sick day: Things To Do

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I am the worst sick person ever. Truly. It’s been 5 days and 14 hours since I woke up with this crud and I just want it over. (Yes, I am whining once again about my FWPs.)

Since I have imposed a do-not-share-the-germ-love edict that keeps us home-bound, we are all climbing the walls. The climbing started on day 3 and has been steadily increasing. This, coupled with minimal adult interaction and conversation, has led me to create a list of things to do/not do when sick! Enjoy!

Do drink lots of fluids, eat soup and get lots of rest.
Do not get sick while hubby is deployed.

If your body doesn’t cooperate and you do fall ill while hubby is deployed, don’t let your kids get sick simultaneously!

Do take naps. (When you can breathe while horizontal.)
Don’t let the kids nap for 3 hours, they will make up the time by being awake far too late.

Do get some fresh air, in small doses. Easy does it.
Do not let your medicine kick in giving brief relief from symptoms and then attempt to mow the lawn and run.

Do use a humidifier.
Do not underestimate the magnetic pull of said humidifier on a two-year-old. Wet carpet is no fun and you don’t need another thing to wipe up when there are snotty noses in abundance!

Do fly paper airplanes, read books, do puzzles, and play games.
Do not let your 4 year old make such aerodynamic planes that he can fly them off the banister right into your eye. (Yes, this happened. Twice.)

Do remember that a cold won’t last forever, the day only has 24 hours in it, and they WILL eventually sleep. As will you. (I have to keep reminding myself!)

Here’s to a healing and restful night’s sleep. And a hopefully not-too-early morning!

Wonder-Full Wednesday

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I’ve been sick. Really, really, ugly nasty cold/flu type sick. I don’t like detest being sick. I am a whiny baby and just want to curl up in bed with my tea and a movie and have the world leave me alone until I’m over it.

Then I had kids. Leave me alone!? Are you kidding? I cant get them to leave me alone for 3 minutes to pee!

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Hubbs is gone until summer. Oh, and they are sick, too. At this point, we are all climbing the walls, tired, cranky and none of us can breathe properly out of our noses!

So what is so wonder-full about this?

It makes me thankful for my health. We don’t truly appreciate it until we don’t have it. A cold or the flu is a nuisance, yes. But in the big scheme of things, it’s really not that big of a deal and passes within a week or two. I even got my sense of taste back! It apparently vanished under so much snot!

Overall, my children and I are healthy. For that, I am thankful.

I have never been so grateful to sleep in my own bed as I am after a stay in a hotel. Yes, more FWPs (First World Problems) but I have to say – if you are thinking of buying a Tempurpedic (or a Select Comfort, I’ve heard) really consider all options. They are the BEST mattresses, but they make you a complete pansy when it comes to sleeping on anything else. Not sleeping due to crappy mattress, coupled with a nasty head cold and falling down the stairs and hurting my back – I was looking at my beautiful babies and the thought of “calling in sick” seemed like such a fun fantasy. There were a few times when I worked outside the home (especially early on in my first pregnancy) when I was very VERY thankful for the ability to call in sick, pull the covers over my head and just sleep and take care of myself. Or, the rare occasion when I was sick on a day when Eric was home and HE could take care of me! (Yeah, I think that’s happened twice in our 12 years of marriage!)

Now here I sit with my beautiful babies and yes, I admit, I would love to go back upstairs, pull the covers over my head and sleep off this cold for a few days. That just isn’t an option. Moms aren’t supposed to get sick. And when they do – they still have to do everything they usually do. So I kept it low key and drug out my camera and played cars, and blocks, and read books with these kiddos.

Then it hit me. While I love the idea of “calling in sick”, what I am REALLY thankful for is a “job” where the “bosses” love me no matter what, that they really don’t care if my hair is done or in a ponytail for the fifth day in a row, that I’m slinging snot all over, and I don’t have to wear nylons. Ever.

Here is a little bit of what we did:

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Hannah’s sweet little face…kind of tired and recovering from all the excitement of our little weekend away.

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Racing cars down the slide!!!

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The collection!

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Sweet little stinker!

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Watch out! She’s coming down!

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Peek at you!

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Blocks and tower building!

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Dazed and a bit sleepy!

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The fog was so thick we couldn’t even see across the street!

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Window art!

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Toys toys toys…..

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Hannah decided to do Jake’s hair!! (He was such a good sport! 🙂 )

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I love my littles.

Even on the sick days!

Wonder-full Wednesday

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The Halloween That Wasn’t

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It all started so great. 5:30am, Jake is awake and trying to wake up Hannah. I lean over and whisper “Happy Halloween!!” And he exclaims, “Oh Yeah!” And then excitedly asks to put on his crocodile costume!

Sure it’s, 5:30 am, but knock yourself out! By this time Hannah is tearing down the hall looking for her elephant costume. I then have to break it to them both as they are putting on their shoes that trick-or-treating starts at night. The crestfallen looks I got were priceless.

Grandma comes over to workout (after the sun has risen) and stays to visit for a bit after. They are still doing great and excited for the festivities, running around in their costumes being crazy.  I hop in the shower, my niece comes to watch them for an hour or two while I run last minute errands.

Then I return home to a fevery hot mess. Poor kid. Jake needs a nap bad. Plans to do “the afternoon downtown trick-or-treating” get canceled as they finally fall asleep precisely at the time we were to leave.

Jake wakes up and groggily announces that he doesn’t want to go trick or treating and that he feels yucky. We were invited to a friends’ party and of course, with a fever had to cancel that as well.

While I’m bummed that it was not to be the Halloween I had envisioned, (it was one of my favorite holidays as a kid, and still remains so) it does happen to be one more holiday to cross off our “Daddy Countdown Track” (that would be our kid-friendly countdown to daddy calendar/timeline).

And as I sit here typing this….this is what I’m looking at:
Poor feeling-under-the-weather babies!
I also have to add that my rockstar friend Becky (the one having the party) stopped by with a yummy treat for me and the kiddos as well as a plush soft blankie for Jake – and that’s what he’s snuggling on the couch right now! SO SWEET!!
So cheers to the Halloween that wasn’t for us and here’s to next year when we’ll get to trick-or-treat with Daddy!! YAY!