7 Things To Do When MOM Gets The Flu!

If I could pick a theme song that sums up this week, it would be Kermit the Frog singing “It’s not easy being green”.

Not that I felt as lucky as a four leaf clover or had an inkling to kiss the Blarney stone, but green as in YUCK to the second power.

And I wasn’t the only one.

Amy and I were both hit hard fast and within 2.5 seconds apart, NOT the mother/daughter bonding time you would want to captured on Instagram, for sure.

I woke up Monday morning with a slight tummy gurgle, reminiscent of one too many rides on the Tilt-O-Whirl at the county fair, but quickly dismissed is as being too busy or drinking too much coffee on an empty stomach. I grabbed a big handful of Cheez-It crackers to calm the rumblings. This proved to be a big mistake. Within an hour, Amy called from the school nurses office and asked me to come and get her. I wasn’t too surprised. We had our younger nieces and nephew for the day and, after an afternoon at the beach, thought they were sick from swallowing too much seawater. WRONG. By that evening, our living room looked like a scene from M.A.S.H. The following morning, it was confirmed that the Stomach Flu was making the rounds.

I decided to take a bucket with me to pick up Amy, ”Just in case.” I was SO glad I did. Because about three minutes after picking Amy up all you-know-what broke loose.

Besides “Praise God I made it to the side of the road in time,” all I could think of was “I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!!! Moms are not allowed to have sick days!” Three days after coming down with the flu, I realized something very important… The list is going to get done. It just won’t be today. That is life.

So what does a mom do when she gets sick?

1.) REST! Admit defeat and cancel everything! You are not doing anyone a favor by showing up and getting someone else sick. Trust me on this, people will thank you!

2.) Call in the re-enforcements. Ask for help! You know you would do the same if a friend called you.

3.) After a few days, I felt well enough to do a few things, but I still needed to rest. A lot. Our bodies are amazingly created to try to fight off disease, but they need a chance. So don’t push yourself. Allow yourself time to recover.

4.) Re-prioritize. After being sick, everything needs wiped down, washed, and disinfected. The to-do list will have to change a bit, but you will still get to the things that need to be done.. Hello? Are you really upset that organizing your craft supplies or cleaning the car will have to wait a few more days? If so, you need serious intervention.

5.) Fight the urge to make homemade chicken noodle soup and buy a few cans instead. Save the Wonder Woman act for Halloween, you just had the flu for goodness sake.

6.) Take the advice you would give to someone else. Drink plenty of fluids.

7.) Repeat as needed.

Everyone is entitled to a sick day, whether they have time for it or not.

I was going to add a recipe for homemade chicken soup but decided to follow #5.

From my home to yours!