This cartoon has been hanging on a bulletin in my parent’s house for as
long as I can remember and I never really
understood it until I became I mother myself (sorry mom!). Unless you are
fortunate to have 24/7 help, chances are if you are a mother and you’ve ever
gotten that terrible cold or flu, morning sickness when you also have to take
care of other children, a migraine or just “coming down with something” then
you KNOW that as sad as it is, the last thing you want to do is cook, bathe,
change and worst of all - play with your children.
During the winter months when it is too cold to go to the playground
after school, I try very hard to show my children attention during that time until
I have to start preparing dinner and do whatever they want, which is usually
painting, playing with play-doh, cutting with scissors,baking, or anything else they can think of that
will make a huge mess and big clean up job for me and I am okay with this because
otherwise they would sit in front of the tv or their iPads from the time they
come home from school until they go to bed. However, when I get sick, (which
thank Gd isn’t very often, but when it hits it is the WORST), I cannot bring
myself to do any extra clean up, sometimes I do not even want to get off the
couch. On those days I do turn on the tv and hand each child an iPad but it is
always with extreme guilt and sometimes the worst happens – my kids still want
to have an after school activity even though Blaze and The Monster Machines is on! This made me evaluate my
children’s capabilities and toys to come up with a list of after-school fun
that does not require mommy to be a participant (unless she is feeling better).
I am sharing this list with you – maybe you have some go-to ideas that work for
you, or maybe you have a basement or designated play area so this doesn’t even
apply to you because the play table isn't also the dinner table or the mess just isn't as "in your face", but I have found that my kids would sometimes rather me be their
audience anyway than fellow participant.
I hate reading to my children when I have a sore throat or am so tired
that I can barely see straight, so if they request story time after school I tell
them to save the books for bedtime when Daddy comes home or look at the book
yourself (which often translates to: this is no longer book time) and that is
okay. I often offer coloring books or blank paper and crayons and tell them to
color pictures since they clean up the crayons when they are done and I am
happy to display their artwork on the wall. If I am really lucky I can get a
full fifteen minute coloring session. If it isn’t a headache I am suffering
from, I encourage my children to take out their instruments and sing me songs. Band
time is the best – they play (bang) their pianos, guitars, drums and recorder and I sit
on the couch with my feet up enjoying the ridiculous verses my creative
children come up with. I always suggest playing with Legos or puzzles but
sometimes a full clean up job doesn’t happen on its own (especially when 1000
Legos are involved). There is nothing like having an apartment full of toys and
your children telling you they have “nothing to play with”. I like to use my “sick
days” to remind my children of their train sets, doll houses, pretend food and
kitchen and when they are bored of all of these ideas, I simply tell them “Mommy
is sick and needs a checkup”. Nothing heals you faster than a Fisher-Price Band-Aid
from a two year old doctor.
Hang in there moms – spring is almost here and that lingering cough
will disappear and our kids will stop bringing home ear infections. Until then,
do what it takes to get through those hard weeknights, whether it is extra TV
or iPad time, coloring, building or singing. (And if you are ever offered an
extra set of hands – TAKE THE HELP!! You are already your child’s hero – take that
nap if Grandma is offering babysitting time!) One more thing, if you do know a fellow mom suffering from a winter cold, you can surprise her and send her a free tissue box from Kleenex.com.
And if you’ve never seen the amazing : "Moms don't take sick days" DayQuil commercial.
