I’m sure you’ve seen that commercial for a certain brand of cold medicine that says, “Moms don’t take sick days; moms take [This Cold Medicine].” Although society says moms should find a way to power through their illness, I’m here to tell you that moms should indeed take sick days.
Over the weekend, I came down with a nasty stomach bug, the likes of which I haven’t experienced since I was a kid. It started with a bit of an upset stomach on Saturday afternoon but quickly evolved into fever, chills, and losing every bit of food I ate that day (TMI, sorry). This resulted in me staying in bed most of the day on Sunday, much to my chagrin.
Because, you see, I am a mom. And society tells me that I need to be ever-present and ever-involved in my sweet baby’s life. But as I lay in bed trying not to die, I realized that this is an unfair expectation of moms.
Your family CAN survive without you
Moms do A LOT. I was vaguely aware of this before I became a mama myself, but y’all, it is so true! There are so many things to get done in any given day: nurse the baby, make meals, keep the house in some semblance of order, run errands, be a supportive wife, etc.
I think we get it into our heads that our family cannot survive without us, and while that’s true to some extent, one day will not kill them. When I finally broke down and acknowledged I was sick, my amazing husband went to the store and got me what I call the stomach bug survival kit. He then proceeded to care for our Little Man the entire day, bottle feeding him pumped breast milk because I was scared to death that even breathing near the baby would get him sick.
Sometimes you need to just slow down
My mom has often told me that getting sick is our body’s way of telling us to slow down. I see the wisdom in those words because as I looked back at the previous week, I realized that I had been going nonstop, running from one activity and commitment to another. Factor in the fact that Little Man started to refuse his afternoon nap and you end up with one tired, stressed-out mama.
There’s nothing like a stomach bug to knock you flat on your back for some much-needed rest. I ended up sleeping well into Sunday afternoon and let me tell you, it felt amazing! Apparently it’s just what the doctor ordered because come Sunday evening, I felt so much better.
Take preemptive measures
Don’t be like me and wait until you get sick to take care of yourself. Even though you may feel like you can’t afford to take a break, sometimes you need to do just that so it doesn’t affect you later. To keep from ending up where I was, try to practice a little self-care throughout the week: read a few pages of a book, drink an extra glass of water (or two), step outside for some fresh air, eat a healthy snack. As the sports analogy goes, the best offense is a good defense.
Moms should most definitely take sick days once in a while because we are human after all. Resist the mindset that your family will fall to pieces if you’re not there to manage everything. Slow down and take some time for yourself so you can avoid many of those sick days to begin with. And don’t be like me and get to the point where the stomach bug has to take you down to knock some sense into you.
