I'll be the first to admit, I'm bitter. I don't get sick days. If I'm feeling yucky, I grin and bear it with less emphasis on the grinning. I don't get to call my boss, fake cough, and take to the bed for the rest of the day. Oh how I would love to take to the bed! The last time that happened was when I had my wisdom teeth sliced and ripped from my gums. Drugged and vomiting, I was given two days to recuperate before I was expected to be back to work. Work being a stay at home mom, of course.
That's quite possibly the biggest downside to my job, limited time off. For me to take a sick day, someone else (namely Hatta) has to take the day off from work to cover my shift. And even then I'm not really off. Alice, the helpful sweetie she is, likes to make me better when I'm not feeling well. She climbs in bed with me, armed with books and lovey friends, where she entertains me lest I be bored.
So you can imagine my displeasure this morning when Hatta announced he wasn't feeling well and probably wasn't going to work. Something about a cough, chest pain, blah, blah, blah. Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not mean. I can be very sympathetic for real illnesses, which this isn't. This is a cold.
"How can you be so certain?" you ask. It's simple. Alice and I had the same infliction a few weeks ago. I still wake up every morning with a sore throat, cough up green stuff, and fall asleep at the end of the day with the same sore throat.
"What's it matter to you if he stays home?" you question. Let me tell you. See, I work from home. Hence, when he stays home from work he's really coming to my office, laying around my work space, pretending to be sick. If he was really sick he would get out of my way and take to the bed!
When I picked up Alice from school, she was excited knowing Hatta stayed home from work.
"When I get home, I wanna play with Papa."
"Well, he may not be able to play with you. Remember? He's sick."
"He's not sick," she said. "He just has a cold."
Even at the ripe old age of four, she gets it.
Get well soon, Hatta! Drink orange juice, Hatta, eat chicken soup! I find that a lot of spicy Chinese food with all the garlic and ginger is great for clearing out the sinuses and will help you breathe easier. Nyquil and Dayquil are godsends.
ReplyDeleteI know that it sucks to have a cold, but I also know that moms get the short end of the stick when it comes to most illnesses. Sure, SAHMs (and nannies!) get to take the day off for major life events: surgery, birth, alien abduction... Otherwise it's report for duty or admit defeat as the kids destroy you. So Nelly, for your sake, I hope Hatta feels better soon. If his cold runs over to tomorrow, then you can always consider plopping Alice in bed with him, armed with all her friends, books, etc. and head out for a cup of coffee or even just a child-free walk around the block.
Beware the dreaded man flu. I have no patience for man flu.
ReplyDeleteThese are my exact feelings on the dreaded "man cold" too. As soon as I hear him bring a sniffle to my attention I wanna pack a bag and get the hell outta Dodge!
ReplyDeletelol. My husband very rarely takes time off when he's sick I'm usually the one that's moping about the house complaining about my cold being irrationally sensitive. So I sort of feel his pain, and yours mostly because I'm totally aware of how needy I'm being when I'm sick.
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