When a Parent Gets Sick

You know, it's a lot easier for Parents to be sick on weekends, when the other one is there to help out with the kids.  However, if it bleeds into the week, and school is out for one of the kids, it becomes a bit more daunting of a task.

As I've said previously, when school breaks hit here in South Africa, lots of stuff close down.  December especially.  Everyone leaves town, and Johannesburg becomes a virtual ghost town.  Since Crazy Little Man goes to a local day care, they closed down for December last Friday.  Lovely Little Girl is off after school on Friday for 3 weeks.  We're off for a week to Durban starting on Saturday.  So of course Lovely English Lass got sick this weekend.

To be honest, I'm not shocked.  We've got a history of being ill before trips, so this was bound to happen.  Better now than when I'm driving the N3 to Durban and we've just passed the "No petrol for 100 km" sign, right?  Anyways, it could be worse.

Poor LEL.  She was aching, and her head hurt, and it hit quite quickly.  In the 7 years we've been married, I've never seen her that miserable over a virus.  (I've seen her more miserable, but it had to do with child birth and that's not something to discuss, ok?)

We went to the doctor's office, and the doctor was a bit flummoxed by it all but gave her some stuff to make it better.  Meanwhile, out in the outer office, I was dealing with CLM and his frequent temper tantrums.  Let's just say he's lucky he's my child and not that of my grandmother or mother.  You did NOT act out like that in public with any of those ladies.  (Like most good southern boys, I love my momma, but I'm also still scared of her.  I was once asked when I would stop being scared of my mother, and I replied, "Two days after I'm dead.  Jesus may not find me the first day, but she would.")

So Daddy was left alone with the two kids this weekend while mummy was upstairs in our room asking what she had done to deserve this.  To be honest, I have always very much appreciated my wife for what she has given up to be with me, and what she does to keep the family moving.  But I appreciate her now more than ever.  With my kids for 2 days trying to keep them away from mummy so she can get some rest, trying to keep them from beating each other while I'm in the bathroom, or even trying to get them to eat something healthy is a chore in and of itself.  All weekend long, all I heard was: "Where's mummy?"  "Mummy is NOT sick!"  (That's LLG.  She can't stand to have someone ill in the family.)  (crying): "I want MUMMY!"  (That's CLM.)

So I survived, but with my head bowed and bloodied from the whole experience.  Goodness me is it hard being a parent.  Kind of wished I'd known this earlier.  I would have read more before the kids came.  Then again, knowing my kids, they would read it and done the opposite, so there's that.