Oh No-Mom’s Sick
Surviving a mommy sick day
Moms, do you ever wonder why your perfectly well-behaved children act up when you are sick or exhausted? My ever-fabulous toddlers decided ON the day I came down with an upper respiratory infection they needed to be creative. Now I regularly encourage their creativity and welcome any artistic endeavors. However, on this day…not so much! I desperately needed a nap or I might have curled up on my faux marble floor tiles and just died! Those of you who have had bronchitis while watching energetic young children may remember death seeming an appealing option.
So the plan was to set up my 3-year-old on the computer playing educational games and turn on Sesame Street for my two-year-old. Those furry monsters can be life savers on days like these, so I was set for about an hour.
I closed the doors to the bathrooms, locked up the poisons, checked the gate to the downstairs and hesitantly proceeded to my cozy and inviting bed! (The one I never have to myself!) I set the alarm clock for 45 minutes. (This generally gives one 15 minutes to fall asleep, 15 minutes of actual sleep, and 15 additional minutes where children come in for ridiculous requests.)
As expected, I did take 15 minutes to fall asleep, but then an amazing thing happened: I got a 30-minute nap! The alarm went off, and as all moms do, I panicked. Mothers can experience this after either an intentional or accidental nap and I was not immune. I rushed down the hall because I did not hear a peep out of either of them. The silence was my warning. They were up to something.
Just as I approached the closed door to the office, where I had left my perfect angels, the door flung open wildly. My cherubic looking 2-year-old was covered in something slimy…and purple. Now since I had been asleep and having difficulty breathing I thought, “She’s covered in mucus?!” Two beats later, I realized (being a pediatric nurse) very few children I have examined have lavender mucus. So then what was it? And why was her hand stuck to the side of her face?
In the background I saw the older of the two, rubbing my white wooden bookshelf with a facial tissue. Not a good sign. She said, “I’m trying to clean it up.” Good for you! What a helper. As my eyes began to focus on the formerly white bookcase, I saw the shelves and both children covered in what appeared to be lavender glitter paint. Yes, it was lavender and glittery, but paint would have been welcomed…It was glitter glue!! Who ever came up with glitter glue? Why does anyone need it and furthermore, why did I buy it and not have it locked in the fire safe?!
At times like these, a parent sees if they have the chops to maintain the “Parent of the Year” title. Since I was rested from my nap, I had clarity which rarely comes to a parent of two toddlers. “Was the nap worth it? Was the lavender-glitter furniture worth the time to catch up on zzz’s?” No hesitation. An emphatic “YES” was the answer!
Several months later, as I sit in my office admiring my toddlers’ artwork titled “The Bookcase Formerly Known as Plain,” I have a new founded appreciation for glitter glue. It adds just enough whimsy (and comic relief) to the room that I’m leaving it as is!
Stacey Hatton, an exhausted Overland Park mom and wife, is now breathing clearly and pondering what other colors glitter glue comes in.