That’s Sick…

I’ve noticed some youngsters using the phrase these days, That’s sick.

I think that if I were hip and cool and said things like fetch and that’s sick, I would be trying to express that that’s awesome… or rad, if you wanna go retro. But all that that’s sick makes me think of is sick days. And how much I miss them. I know, here’s my mom card.

Of course, I don’t mean that I miss being sick and having to use sick days. That would just be outrageous. I mean that I miss actual sick days. The ones where I would roll over and realize I felt awful. Determine a sick day was necessary and only have to make a call to my boss. And then, of course, spend the day switching from sofa to bed, from one tv program to the next and actually do nothing, nada, zilch, all day long … oh, except drifting in and out of sleep.

Friday was one of those days … the ones that make me a bit dreamy about life pre-mama. I think about how, in my former life, with a perpetual headache, incessant sinus pressure, and overwhelming level of tiredness, I would have been snuggled up under the covers in my bed, with only the occasional necessity to use the bathroom dragging me out from the comfort of my sick day. Oooh, and if I were getting really crazy, I would have gone to the doctor. I may have even had a regular doctor who knew me and knew my story. But who has time for that?

As a parent, sick days are pretty much null and void. I mean, sure, if you’re lucky enough to have a partner in crime, a phenomenal grandparent or fab friend to take a child off your paws, you can attempt to have some semblance of a sick day but in all reality, you can usually get one good day to really recupe and then, it’s back to baby business.

So, alas, sick days… well, they don’t really exist anymore, do they? And I’m not gonna say I don’t miss that part of life before mommyhood, because that would be a dirty lie {it is okay to admit that there are excerpts of life that were more favorable prior to children. At least I think it is…}. I don’t think I really even appreciated them {much like my more taut tummy and my ability to sleep past 8} before. I never really gave them their due. So, to sick days of the past … you were loved.

And in talking about sick days, it’s not a stay-at-home mom vs. working-outside-the-home mom {hope I was the most p.c. I could possibly be in those titles} thing. It’s just a parent thing.

The babe still needs to be fed. The children still need rearing. The toddler still needs attention. And though you share the duties with the hubs, it can be extremely guilt-inducing to sleep the day away while he carries the full load. And let’s be real, if I am going to have someone hang out with the kiddos for the day, I want to be doing something really fantastic…not spending it holed up in a dark, quiet room. And much like missing a day of work at the office, the duties are never-ending and the work will still be there when you get back to it. Turns out, even when we’re sick, our kiddos still need food, entertainment and love {how dare they!}.

So, ibuprofen, salt water gargle and saline abound. And snuggling under the covers, I’ll see you in another life.