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You know the kind of week I’m talking about…the kind of week where everything that can go wrong does go wrong. You can feel one of these weeks when it’s coming because… well… everything starts going wrong. That’s the kind of week I had this past week. Monday night my daughter came down with a really bad flu (which still has her in its grip like the cold front gripping the East and Midwest right now), Tuesday I started my period, Wednesday my son came down with the same flu, and by Thursday I had caught it. And, as if feeling sick, crampy, bloaty, and irritable wasn’t enough, along came the sleep deprivation that comes from caring for two flu-bitten toddlers who absolutely cannot sleep and for whom only “mommy” (or “mama,” depending on who is calling me at the moment) can ease their misery, even though Daddy tries valiantly to step up to the plate. And then of course there was no preschool, which meant no breaks for mom, which meant none of the deadlines that I needed to meet were met. Holiday visits with relatives and friends were cancelled, my husband and I had a fight (was it because of the current conditions in our home or because we’re both so romance starved that we needed an outlet and this was a convenient one? [Note to Self: Find some couple time!]).
And, of course, the flu always brings its best bud/friend/compadre, Chaos, along for the ride, destroying any sense of order and stability in the home, no matter how much you’re trying to maintain your death grip on it. Try as I might I could not hold everything together (and I’m a pretty strong gal!). “Chaos” and “Flu” got the best of me. The household routine I try so hard to adhere to because it helps me remember what comes next in our busy days as parents of twins (and keeps me sane), along with the daily schedules I rely on to keep everything running smoothly (and show my kids [or is it myself?] that I really do know what I’m doing), were blown to smithereens as everyone snatched sleep whenever and wherever they could (I have never slept in so many different places in the course of one week as I did last week!), meals have been reduced to “whatever everyone will eat” and popsicles and ice cream have been used not so much to soothe sore throats as to calm the inevitable “I feel lousy” tempers. The TV time usually allotted was expanded from 2 hours a day to “anytime it will keep the peace.” Oh, and did I mention that our house, which just last week had at least a modicum of neatness and organization, is now in complete disarray?
Every mother knows the kind of week I’m talking about because every mother has had her own intimate experience with one of these weeks at one time or another. It’s the kind of week you dread and once it’s gone you shudder and hope that it will be a long, long time before you ever see another week like that one again. One thing I have learned is that although these weeks may come crashing into our family “den” unannounced, like our own private Katrina, they also pass on through in about… oh, say….a week! And so, I look forward to next week when everything will be back to normal—we’ll get back to our normal schedules, eat healthier, watch less TV, and forget that this week ever happened. At least until the next stormy week blows in. :-) Oh, and just in case my story hasn’t convinced you and your family to get your flu shots, here’s a link to a recent blog post in the Silicon Valley Moms Blog giving you even more reasons to get your flu shots this year. Posted by Cheryl W (December 05, 2007)
