I can’t remember the last time I was truly sick with the flu. I had strep throat last summer, but it wasn’t that bad, and it came while I was on vacation, so I powered through.
I have watched my kids get sick with just about everything since they started going to daycare and then school, but the extra cuddles were nice, and they were on the mend in no time.
So when my youngest daughter woke us up last weekend with a fun surprise of the stomach flu, I didn’t think much of it, other than fluids and rest. As soon as she started to bounce back, my husband went down and not long after my throat started to hurt and I began to think we were in some trouble.
A quick visit to the doctor later and I was once again diagnosed with strep throat. After taking a 20-year break, I had the icky stuff twice in one year.
I was feeling pretty good besides a sore throat and planned to take my medicine and be on with things. Then the flu hit.
I will say I only got the fever, chills, achy portion of the flu and not the fun other stuff. But I found a new struggle in trying to parent two active kiddos with two parents who just wanted to hide in bed.
For the most part, the girls were great. As I steadily went down, they played well and made things fairly easy on us.
The real struggle came in the morning when they had to get ready for school. My kids aren’t really morning people, and when I had little to no energy, I knew it was going to be tough.
I got their clothes together and their breakfast ready and wanted to crawl back in bed. But I kept going, getting them out of bed one by one, teeth and hair brushed, clothes on and food in their tummies to begin their day.
I may have pleaded with them to make the process as easy as possible and not throw any fits or be more difficult just because it was morning. In the end, they were both ready to go, on time and out the door with my husband, who was also still sick, but a little better at being upright than me.
As soon as they were gone I was back in bed and sleeping, which is pretty unheard of for me. I am a terrible napper and typically cannot fall back asleep once I am awake in the morning.
Thankfully by the time school was out I was feeling quite a bit better and as the evening went on, started to feel like myself.
We made it through our first parent sick days, but I hope there isn’t very many more of them in the future.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson
at jpierson@newtondailynews.com