Keep the river flowing

If someone could take a two by four and just whap it upside my face, I honestly think that would feel better than I do right now. Seriously. Any takers? Cause I’ve had it with feeling crappy and like I’ve said before, moms can’t be sick! That’s the rule. Cause when the mom is down and out, it’s like damming up a running river. Everything is moving along smoothly and like it does every other day until the river stops running and then things start backing up and piling up and then gets to stinking. Then people get confused and are walking around not sure what to do with themselves because they depend on that running river and when it’s suddenly halted, their whole routine is thrown off.

So … in the meantime, I try my darndest to keep that river running. I keep getting up when it’s still dark out even though my head feels like it weighs 82 pounds and I can only breathe out of the right side of my nose. Cause ya know what the other bummer about moms being sick is, the schools still function on time and don’t let the kids out so sick moms can sleep in. That being said, I get the kids up, make sure they eat and get around, get myself around just like a regular morning. I do wolf down a whole lot of medicine and vitamins in the morning and suck down too many cups of coffee but if that’s what I gotta do, then so be it. We haven’t been late to school yet so apparently, it’s working.

Driving to work, though, when I feel my hot face and then about wreck because I sneezed 12 times in a row, I so desperately wanna go back home, grab a blanket and pass out for 4 more hours. But I think to myself, I’m not so bad I can’t work. I don’t have a fever, just congestion and the deadly combination of cold medicine and coffee should kick in any minute. Plus, I already dressed up and have lipstick on, for Pete’s sakes. To all outward appearances, I look like I feel fine and dandy. Might as well go act like it.

And I do, day after day. I pick the kids up from school, make dinners, attend their games, do their laundry, tidy the house, even though I can’t see through the hazy fog in my head and have to stop every few minutes to blow my nose, it all gets done. I can’t say that I’ve been all Mary Poppins about still taking care of it all and the kids have thought more than once that I was mad at them due to the painful scowl on my face, but when I rather choose to take a full blast firehose to the face than have to clean up the kitchen, it tends to come off as grouchy I guess.

However, I did wave the white flag of surrender yesterday because, after 3 long weeks of on and off feeling like dogmeat, I felt like I had no choice and went to the doctor so I think the end is finally in sight. The river has never stopped running and everyone in my house has kept their routine but it’s always such a challenge not damming that river right up when I don’t feel good. But as of today, the water is flowing and everyone is going the right direction so I’m gonna grab my Kleenex box and jug of water and keep schlepping through the day cause moms can’t be sick!