Today's post was written by my sweet friend Deborah of My Life at Playtime. I can't say enough wonderful things about her: she is so kind and fun and adorable. Her site is full of beautiful parties, super cute kids, and wonderful thoughts on parenting and marriage. Be sure to check out her site and follow her on Pinterest, facebook, and instagram. Thank you so much Deborah for sharing this post with us.
I’m so excited for Carla and her family who welcomed another little boy into the family! And I’m also thrilled to be guest posting while she snuggles and enjoys all the newborn-ness that comes along with him.
I decided my guest post would be a little raw and a little honest. When people find out I have three kids I often am asked questions like: Is having 3 really hard? They’re usually trying to gauge my reaction and see if it looks like I’ve washed my hair recently, if my shoes match and how dark the bags under my eyes appear. I usually respond with “being a mom can be hard” but then I smile and also mention “I wouldn’t have it any other way”.
However, there’s nothing harder than being a mom when you have sickness in the house, no matter how many kids you have. I went back in the archives since my memories seem to be dulled over the years and found this piece I wrote which puts life as a mom in perspective.
When I say ‘being a mom is hard’ I don’t mean it the challenging mental hardness that comes from making up words like I think I just did. No, it’s hard in the emotionally draining and physically exhausting part. Hard in the ‘I think I'm going to die if I have to wipe one more nose, stare at first grade homework for one more minute, or reason with a child on how biting does not count as communication’. Hard in the ‘I'm so sick of dealing with illnesses that are not even my own that I'd rather be sick myself’. That kind of hard.
Rewarding? Of course! Absolutely!
But really really hard.
Not every day, but definitely on sick days.
It's just the name of the game at the moment. This has been the toughest winter in this household for sure. And I'm not talking about the weather.
A sudden squeal from Greta's bedroom at 9:30pm had me running to her bedroom to find her on fire. As I scooped her up and brought her to my bed to go grab the Motrin she proceeded to vomit into my hair. My freshly blown dry hair that is supposed to last me 3 days until the next time I can beg someone to watch the kids for the 60 minutes it takes me to shower and straighten my hair while burning my hand from the frantic rate I flat iron my hair. We proceeded to strip and shower together. All the while asking Greta to please tell mommy if she is going to throw up again. Because look, down there in the bottom of the shower, it's a drain. And that's where vomit goes. We hang out in the bathroom until I think the coast is clear enough to make our way toward the bed.
And then 4 am comes. As I’m drifting in and out of sleep I try to keep a hand on my 2 year old to make sure she doesn't start to seize from having such a high fever. But then I hear faint phrases being yelled out like, "mas rapido!" I’m jerked awake because all of a sudden I fear an intruder yelling commands at me to hurry up!
I realize it's Dora talking because that's what the feverish 2 year old wants to watch to help her feel better at 4 o'clock in the morning. A Spanish speaking cartoon about a little girl who has a monkey friend and likes to yell out things in Spanish that your kid has to repeat.
We got through that night, and we got through that winter. Years later I can look back and even tell you that my kids have learned where to throw up. But after all this time when I’m asked the question if having kids is hard, my answer is never different. “Being a mom can be hard but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
- Written by Deborah of My Life at Playtime
