‘Tis The Season

Let me hear it from the other Mamas out there on the same struggle bus as me….

Who loves the Christmas season?!

Who loves flu season?!

Who reconsiders their life decisions when all your kids are sick at the same time or the domino effect of one after another?!

I’m not trying to downplay COVID, but where the heck did all this other crap come from?! I mean, I feel like we all got slapped in the face with 2022 Winter Germ Fest. Let’s see the menu… we got RSV, flu, Rona, colds, strep throat and pink eye. Pick your poison.

I’m gonna break this down…REWIND!

I took the kids to California at the beginning of November to see their great grandparents (of which we haven’t seen in almost three years because of COVID) and Saxon had a lingering cough the whole time we were there and it wasn’t until the day we were coming home, I mean literally, in the car driving to the airport, this kid gets a fever. Made for an interesting flight home and right away, knowing I was going to have to keep him home the next day. Awesome. Little did I know this was the start to an entire month of Germ BS. Week 1 = 4 days working in the office.

The next week rolls around. Thanksgiving week. And the kid’s Dad informs me that Lennox has had a fever so I should prepare myself to get a call on Monday to pick him up since he was leaving town early that morning. Sure enough, at noon I get the call to pick him up. Pack up the home office supplies. Tuesday morning, he still has a fever. Come to find out, he’s had a fever since Saturday! None of my kids have ever had a fever last that long. Clearly, he did not have the same thing that Saxon had last week. Call the pediatrician and make an appointment to be seen the next day. Poor guy, 5 days of a fever, 4 nasal swabs to test for Covid and flu; Influenza A in the house!! Yep, a full 6 days of fever for this kid. And now I start a cough. But of course, nothing changes for anybody when Mom is sick because we are the glue to the operation and what other choice do we have?! Week 2 = one half day working in the office.

Mind you, all of our plans for Thanksgiving were ruined. We were supposed to see family for dinner, Mike was going to be meeting more of the family and we were supposed to go get our Christmas tree. PHSYCH!! Parenting is all about that pivot life! If you like predictability, please reconsider. Don’t say nobody warned you. You’re welcome!

Do a happy dance we’re feeling good on Saturday and we FINALLY get to go outside! Then as we’re about to have dinner, BAM Saxon says “Maman, I’m so cold.” Well MF if I don’t know what that means….!! Round 2 here we go! Sunday they go to Dad’s house and I have a 2 day break which means I can actually make it into the office before I prepare to work from home, most likely, the rest of week seeing how it played out last week with Lennox. Forewarn Dad so he knows he’s gonna have to stay home for a couple days before I take over again on my days. I’m so smart, I didn’t even bother to unpack my home office bag. Optimism is not exactly a thing at this point. Let’s just throw the cherry on top… Dad says it looks like Maeva has pink eye on Monday. You don’t mess with pink eye! I dropped off a bottle of antibiotics that night!!

By the end of Tuesday, I pick up the kids for my time and I’m not feeling amazing. Slept like garbage and ended up having major flu symptoms throughout the night and a fever throughout the night. Thank goodness that was it because I honestly can’t afford to be more sick than that! Through the worst of it for me, back to work (from the couch, of course). This poor kid was coughing so hard on the way home, he threw up twice from the gag reflex. Add it to the journey, why don’t we? We pretty much assume I won’t be in the office the rest of the week at this point. So for Saxon, his fever lasted 5 days and could finally return to school today and I’m thinking maybe Maeva just MIGHT’VE gotten away with just getting a cold since she had just been coughing, sore throat, and no fever.

I kind of wish there was a counter on the thermometer to show how many times I have checked fevers up until now. And in 3 days, I have gone through an entire box of Kleenex all on my own. Lysol wipes and spraying every surface, door knob, remote and handles. We’ve consumed almost an entire container of Costco honey and a 15 oz container of lemon juice for our endless cups of soothing teas. Ibuprofen has been amazing and thank goodness for those electronics to keep everyone occupied!! Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Thursday night, all the kids are in bed and just like I’ve been doing every night for the last almost 3 weeks, I check everyone’s temps before I crawl into bed. Whoop whoop! Everyone is still normal! To work and school we go!

Friday morning, today… I walk into the kids room and take everyone’s temps. Well well well… Maeva is at 101.3. Oh but of course! Kid #3 going for the home stretch! Let me just go ahead and put my leggings right back on since I’m not going anywhere. Kids are going to their Dad’s for the weekend this afternoon and I will have a small reprieve until Tuesday. But seeing the trend, I can bet I won’t be working a full week in the office next week either. I guess the optimism that I do have, is that this will all be over before Christmas and we can finally go get our tree and move on with our lives!! What an absolute shit show. I admit, this is a first for me and I will not be upset if I never have to do it again. So we are finishing week 3 with 2 days working in the office!

In the last month, I have spent a grand total of 8 1/2 days in the office. Winning!

So why do I share this?? Well, honestly, it’s nice to just put some comedy to it because it seriously blows my mind how the series of events have played out this last month. It has been nothing short of chaos and the amount of flexibility and puzzle pieces to put together, understanding from my employer and willingness to help is something I am exponentially grateful for! I am at the end of the year when I find myself in a precarious position; mom working full time and stressing to pull it all together at the final hour. Despite the crap shoot I’m traveling through, there is a lot to be thankful for.

So with all that being said, to all the Mamas; full time moms and full time working moms, we are all feeling the pain of the season. I hope we can all find a moment to enjoy the magic of the season ahead and hey, if we need to have a Zoom wine night, LET’S DO IT!!! I’m happy to set it up. Leggings, no makeup and dirty hair is welcome. Who’s with me?!