Sometimes you just have to say, “Uncle”…

OK, I’ll say it, “Uncle…Uncle…UNCLE!!!”

I’m sick. Not just, “Oh, I’ve got a horrible cold.” kinda sick.  The kind of sick that’s had me flat on my back for the past 4 days…and believe me, I’ve tried to get up, several hundred times.  I tried every time Zeke’s sippy cup landed upside down on the carpet, dripping cranberry juice…drip…drip… “Hello? Am I the only one that can hear that dripping onto my carpet?!!” {sigh} Apparently, I am.  I sprang up off the couch when our dog, Dublin, (who was attentively laying at my feet my entire sickness) started to do the “doggie-heave-dance” in a show of extreme empathy. As fast as I sprang up, I collapsed back down in a dizzy, coughing heap.

So here I lay. While the toys started to pile up almost as high as the laundry but not nearly as high as the dishes, here I lay.  The first 3 days were Mommy torture. Having to just lay there and watch all my “chores” mocking me as they took on lives of their own. Occasionally, Nate would tentatively creep up to me, stare at me a few minutes and say, “Mommy? Are you sick?” “Yes, Nate, I’m very sick.” “Good.” he said. I can only guess what that meant. Maybe it was the only explanation for how I looked, how I was acting and how I smelled. “Nate? Can you give me a hug? I could really use one.” “No thank you, Mommy.” and he blew me a kiss from across the room. Very nice.

Thank the stars above that Mark was home this week. I don’t know what I would have done otherwise.  He made our meals, played with the kids, gave me my meds, played with the  kids, when we ran out of dishes, he ran the dishwasher, he sanded part of the playset, played with the kids, played with the kids and then he played with the kids. You get the picture.

It was a hard lesson to learn but I think I got it. Mark may have spent more time playing with the kids then cleaning the kitchen, putting toys away or even thinking about vacuuming but that’s exactly what needed to be done. The kids were really nervous and put off by the Mommy-Mummy that just layed on the couch, screaming, “Am I seriously the only one that’s bothered by the spoon that’s somehow stuck to the wall?!!” while coughing up a lung every other minute. They needed to be assured that everything was going to be fine. That sometime soon, their beautiful Mommy would emerge from this “thing” on the couch. They didn’t need an immaculate house….they needed Daddy’s love and attention. (And maybe a few more baths…)

Thank you Mark…for being the kind of Dad and husband you are. I love you.

PS Your underwear has been in the same spot on the floor in our bedroom for 4 days…not that I’ve noticed. (You didn’t expect me to change 100%  in just 4 days, did you? )   Baby steps, I can only promise baby steps.