The Summer of Illnesses

So far this summer our family has had 3 fights with flu, one sinus infection (my husband), one case of strep throat (me), and one allergic reaction to penicillin (also me). Who knew when we started this summer that we would end up having so many reasons to lay around? I'm glad most of us are better now. We're now waiting for Monday so I can go and get a different antibiotic.

There are several things that are bad about having one or both parents sick. First, the well parent gets stuck with all the daily tasks, dishes, laundry, meals, diapers, etc. Second, the kids, namely little D, feel they can run amok since they have limited parental supervision. It's also a little bad because it keeps us from having a consistent routine, something we have learned is very important for little D. Without the energy to do much more than lie around and type blog posts, I feel like I'm letting him down in a way. We usually work so hard on his homework from therapy, but with us all being sick, and now me, it's turned into whenever we get some homework done we count ourselves lucky. His behavior has actually been surprisingly good considering how much he's had to deal with. He has been sucking and chewing on his fingers more, but we're trying to replace his fingers with chewy tubes. I do feel bad because I know how much he needs me, but as my husband often reminds me, I have to take care of myself first or else I won't be able to take care of anyone else. Sad that he has to remind me of this, but I often overdo and I almost always have high expectations of myself.

Now if I could only feel less like throwing up and a little more like walking. Yeah, I'm not even off the couch. My husband says he's going to make me sit outside for a while today. Problem is, I'm in my PJs and I have no desire to change. It's not exactly something I'd like my neighbors to remember, but it would be nice to have a little sunshine.