So What Happens When Mom Calls in Sick?

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I ask this question because I actually did this just a few days ago. My 4-year-old brought home the yucky stomach virus literally to our dinner table while we were entertaining out-of-town guests. It was lovely! So of course, I got sick not less than 24 hours later. It always hits me the hardest. My daughter was sick for all of 20 minutes. I, on the other hand, was sick for a full-on 36 hours. So annoying. Probably more annoying for my husband who had to take care of 4 kids all by himself while I nursed myself back to health. This is where it gets funny thoough. Now, let me preface this by stating that I have an amazingly supportive husband. He is the kind of dad who rolls up his sleeves when he walks in the door after a long day of work and helps with every aspect of getting this large family to bed. Trust me, I am fully aware of how lucky I am!

So my day started at midnight and I was horribly sick all night and the entire following day. Randy decided to take the children, all four of them, to church. I was proud of him when I heard him hustling to get this crazy crew out the door for the 9:00am service. All I could think of was that I could not wait to hear them come home. It was what got me through the next two hours! The only thing I asked was that they come home with Gatorade and bread. Now if you send a woman into a grocery store with these two items on her list, she may think of about a million other things that she may need for the next few days even during this quick stop. But not my husband with his four small children in tow! He came home with one small Gatorade (not even enough for me to drink throughout my sickly day) and one loaf of bread. He stormed through the door and stated that he would never take the kids to church again. Well, duh! Although I do commend him for even trying! The other funny thing about church is his strategy with the drop-off of the twins at nursery. As soon as they let out a peep, he decides to stay and help because he feels guilty that he’s dropping off two screaming kids. Well all of us moms out there know that you can’t linger with the drop-off. If you make eye contact, you’re toast! You give them a hug and a kiss, tell them you love them, and go on your merry way to the service. Not Randy. These boys have his number and get him every time. I think he volunteers for nursery every other week and the ladies there love him for this very reason!

It took me four days to recover from this random stomach virus. As a stay-at-home mom, this short period of time made me feel like I was behind for a month. In my previous life when I was working, I just had to clear my calendar for my appointments, not for four other people with intricately intertwined schedules. When I called in sick, I think I needed a small army to keep this household going! My husband had to rearrange his schedule in a crunch, making me feel oh-so-guilty with every passing minute (not intentionally – it was just my natural reaction to the situation). I had to juggle three different carpools to two different schools, two different dance studios and one gymnastics studio. I’m sure my children felt like they were completely abandoned! Not to mention, I had six loads of laundry to do and my house was a disaster zone. But we made it. And he tried. And it so made me laugh☺

Do you have a funny sick story? Do share!