Mom's don't get sick days

Summer months bring about a different routine for our house. The kids do not have school and extra curricular activities are at a minimum. We did really well for the first few weeks about sticking to our new schedules and most days got through the plan with only minor variance.  Then we added travel, sigh. I love traveling and the opportunities it gives the kids but I do not love the interruption to the routine not only for the duration of the trip but for seemingly days afterwards.

One of our trips this year was followed by an even greater interruption to our routine, illness. We visited some cousins that had a little cold. Well, this "little cold" turned into a bronchial infection accompanied by fevers and a horribly persistent cough. My oldest was the first to get it. He was put on inhalers and ultimately antibiotics and his only job was to rest and get better (he had hockey school and power skating coming up the following week and needed a speedy recovery). We allowed him plenty of rest and although we did our best to quarantine him the germs still spread.

Next to fall victim to this "little cold" was myself and the baby. We had days of up and down fevers and then started the cough. Unlike my boys, I could not rest for trying. The kids were very understanding and did allow me to rest with them during the regularly scheduled afternoon quite time but someone still had to do the housework, laundry, meals...My husband was a great help and pitched in where he could but when our eldest daughter became ill just days after me it was all I could do to wake up in the morning and make sure everyone was fed something and were hopefully wearing clean clothes.

The hardest part of all this is that it happened last week, our first week back at school and trying to get into new routines so no matter how much I wished to take a break there was no way for me to call in a sick day. Mom's don't get sick days we get life-doesn't-stop-so-you-better-keep-it-together days.

I have started to feel much better despite the lingering cough and am calling for a do-over at starting up our fall routines as we begin a new week. I love that I am blessed to be staying home with my kids but sick days would be nice, oh and while we are at it, can we talk about overtime?