I’ve got a horrible case of Strep throat.  My voice is all but gone and every ounce of energy is drained from my body.  Nevertheless, this does not change the fact that many things still need to be accomplished today. Up at 6am, I lay motionless on the couch in the family room as the kids make their way to the kitchen for breakfast.  My eldest takes his place at the head of the table and looks around, surely he was wondering where in the world his breakfast was.  Since it hurts to speak, I patiently wait to see what would happen next.

“Mom” he said.  “Yes” I replied.  “What’s for breakfast?” he inquired.  “Whatever you want” I replied.  “I’ll just have some cereal and orange juice, oh, and maybe a pop tart” and he sat there, just as motionless as I was.  “Honey, I am not feeling too well this morning, you will need to fix breakfast for yourself” I squeaked from the next room.  He was perplexed.  He then informed the other kids as they made their way to the kitchen of the stark reality that had befallen upon them this morning, that they too were on their own to prepare their own breakfast.

Then the questions started flowing, where is the …., I can’t find my …., how do I … and I realized that my dream of getting 20 more minutes under the blanket was no more.  I make my way to the kitchen and start my morning routine.  My youngest asks “Mommy, why does your voice sound like that?” “I am sick, baby” I replied.  “Who is going to take us to school?” asked my middle son, worriedly.  “I am still going to take you to school, honey, don’t worry” I said as I began to prepare breakfast.  I must have looked worse than I thought I did, because my daughter then asked if it was safe for me to touch their food since they too may get sick.  “Great point” I said.  “Why don’t you all prepare your own lunches for school today?” I said as they all looked at me as if I had asked them to dig a tunnel to China.

I finished making breakfast and went back to my heavenly couch haven to take advantage of the few moments I had by bestowing this task upon the little ones.  Just then my little guy walks over and lovingly brushes his soft little hand across my head and asks “Who is going to take care of you because you are sick? Do you want me to stay home with you?”  I thanked him for the gesture and assured him that I would be alright on my own.  “I don’t think that’s fair” he said “you take care of us when we’re sick, so who takes care of you when you are sick?”  I thought about it for a second and replied “mommies are very strong women, and we are able to take care of ourselves when we are sick.”

So if you happen to see my kids today with God knows what for lunch, they could have packed their lunch packs full of Halloween candy for all I know, that is why.  Their clothes may not match, but at least they are clean.  I am down for the count and although it is not fair, that is life, and I am taking care of myself.  I got them to school, with only one forgotten item, a violin, which I proceeded to drive back to school and drop off.  It may not have been a perfectly executed morning, but it was the best I could do.

***Just after I wrote this, my friend stopped by and dragged me out of my slump.  So, who is going to take care of mommy when she is sick? Apparently other mommies, we are AWESOME.