I think that one of the hardest parts of motherhood (and fatherhood, for that matter, too) is that there are no breaks….. it never stops.
Today I was reminded of that reality. There is a cough/ fever that has been running through our home (nothing major, just annoying) and my girls were so kind as to share their germs with me. (Why is it that they will freely share their germs, but not their chocolate???) Anyhow, so I am now experiencing what they had about a week ago.
Truth be told, I have had worse, but it is hard to drag myself out of bed with a fever to get the girls to camp… and they still need to be fed/ watered/ etc. I have been lucky because my partner has been home to help, but that ends tonight as my partner flies out-of-town to visit family. Friday’s are half days at summer camp…. I realized it is more effort to get out of bed and take them then to just bribe them with movies for the day and allow them to stay home…… I know, bad, but sometimes we have to be practical…. the good news is that my girls only felt really lousy for a few days with this thing, so I am assuming I will follow with a similar pattern.
We have to love and care for our kids no matter how we feel. There was a time when I was a single mom and this was so very difficult. When you need to nurture yourself, it is hard to maintain the pace that is required to really care for your children….. this happened on many occasions. When I was a single mom my daughter was really little (toddler) and I had to do everything for her…I remember once getting strep AND a cold at the same time…. I had no clue how I was going to manage…. to this day I am not really sure how I got her to her preschool every day….. I think I mustered up the strength knowing that I needed to place her there so that she could be taken care of so that I could come home and sleep to get better……. Reach out to those single moms in your life, it is not easy for them!
Today, 230 days ’til 40, I am reminded that a mother’s job is 24/7….. it never ends…. which is, mostly, a good thing.
~400daystil40
Fortuitous Forty!!! 
lengesinski
July 6, 2012 at 00:19
Best To You, Get Well…….Best Wishes!
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:42
😉 Thank you so much!
ruthcatchen
July 6, 2012 at 00:23
Been there done that… I am a single Mom and have been for many years so I empathize with your experience. I have very little wisdom, but I do know that you just do what you have to do when it comes to caring for your children. Your post made me recount many difficult days that I wondered how I would get through it, but I did. I worried so much and still do. My daughter’s words (she is 24) comfort me at these times as she said, “We’ll be okay and everything will turn out fine.” I feel grateful to have gotten through it now having only one child at home, which seems like a vacation.
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:41
Yes, exactly….. I can relate and we all do get through it, somehow!
walkwiththerabbi
July 6, 2012 at 00:50
Moms, in my view, are heroes (some guys too). I REALLY don’t know how you do it. BRAVO Mom!!! You rock!!!
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:41
ank you, and yes, fathers deserve credit too!!!
Holly Michael
July 6, 2012 at 01:03
Prayers for your healing. Motherhood is difficult, but a blessing. Mine are grown and I miss those crazy days too.
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:40
Thank you!!! 🙂
brinkofbedlam
July 6, 2012 at 01:07
Yep, no breaks! We’re on duty 24/7. But we get all the perks of the job as well as the tough times. We keep on keeping on because there’s nothing else to do, and because we love them. A great post and one that reminds us all to support each other as parents and as individuals too. I wouldn’t swap being a parent for anything, but it really is the hardest job in the world. x
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:40
Yes, exactly….. Sometimes I say to my girls that I always love them, but do not always like their choices.
silverbells2012
July 7, 2012 at 00:05
Very true! It might be the hardest job in the world but there are many perks to the job 🙂
cnwood
July 6, 2012 at 02:17
The same can be said for caregivers, in particular those solely responsible for caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s or dementia. It’s not something that one will recover from so there’s no reprieve for either. Just an agonizing decent into the waiting abyss: the loss of all awareness and eventual death for the afflicted, the torture for the one left to watch their spouse of decades disappear mentally and physically before their eyes. The prayer each night for such caregivers is please God, don’t let me get sick; help me to stay strong so I can take care of my loved one while keeping up with the house and yard, the cooking and cleaning, the finances, the errands, the doctors, the delusions and foul rants, the sleepless nights tending my spouse’s fears, the profound sadness of being relegated to no more than a stranger in those blankly staring eyes. Please God, don’t let me get sick in heart, mind, or body . . .
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:39
Very good point… and so very sad. We went through this with my grandmother (eventually died of Alzheimer’s complications… one of the cruelest diseases out there…….)
Fay Moore
July 6, 2012 at 02:34
Have you been reading my blog? Just kidding. We are on the same wavelength though. I just wrote a short story about how a mother feels when her partner gives her a day off.
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:38
That made me smile! I am heading over to look for your short story (is it up?)
🙂
writerwannabe763
July 6, 2012 at 04:25
It is hard for two parents never mind a single one….Children need to be cared for no matter how you feel…When they get older and can do more for themselves it gets a bit easier …Hope you feel better soon…Diane
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:37
Yes, definitely! And being sick is certainly easier with an 8 and 10 year old, then it was when they were 4 and 6!!! 🙂
buckwheatsrisk
July 6, 2012 at 05:44
i hope you recover quickly!
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:37
Thank you!!!
The Quiet Borderline (back in hospital)
July 6, 2012 at 10:37
Motherhood (and fatherhood) looks very difficult to me. For many years, your life is dedicated to your child/ren and they come first. You cone second!
I’ve witnessed many of these things with my sister and her two babies – I don’t want to be negative but it looks like such hard work – BUT I guess very rewarding in the end!
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:36
It is hard work, and many times it is rewarding…. and some times you just want to crawl into your bed and hide from the day…….
Spider42
July 6, 2012 at 11:37
I’m a guy. Loads of love and respect for good fathers and fully acknowledge how much our relationships with them tend to have bearings on our development and future.
That said, there is something about the relationship with a mother and child and “a mothers love” (as the line goes) that is special. No other genuine relationship in my experience comes close.
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:35
Yes, and also a lot to be said for all of those single fathers out there who are also doing an amazing job!
Spider42
July 7, 2012 at 11:00
True, true…
Hawkruh
July 6, 2012 at 19:00
Even on the hardest days, I wouldn’t give it up for anything!
400daystil40
July 6, 2012 at 21:35
Thankfully, I usually feel that way!
silverbells2012
July 7, 2012 at 00:06
Get well soon. It is particularly tough being a parent when you are ill.
400daystil40
July 7, 2012 at 21:23
Thanks, silver bells!
Bob Lee
July 7, 2012 at 16:44
I agree – even on the hardest days I wouldn’t give up for anything either. And a good job it is. Kudo’s to parents – Bob http;//team1million.wordpress.com
400daystil40
July 7, 2012 at 21:15
Thanks, Bob!