Being a mother is the best! Really it is…

But think back to years ago… before you had kids…

Remember when you got sick and you took the day off work? You would curl up on the couch with a nice cup of hot lemon and honey while you watched an entire season of The Gilmore Girls. Or was that just me?

A sick day was all about you and wallowing in your own little world of self-pity.

Now, have you remembered what it was like to be sick before kids yet? Being allowed to die peacefully in your lounge room?

Fast forward to today, not just a virus, I have tonsillitis… yippee! Have you had tonsillitis recently? I remember when I was a kid, I was a frequent flyer at the doctor with tonsillitis but it wasn’t too bad. I actually loved the banana flavoured medicine and a few days off school was always welcomed. Now it’s horrid, I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck. Boohoo, yes? I know, I’m just feeling sorry for myself. It’s like the season of the never-ending sickness! Bub has colds and viral infections, including a trip to Emergency. Hubby and I have had non-stop colds too. I can’t wait til the end of cold and flu season!

Post kids, you no longer get to wallow in self pity in the enveloping comfort of the lounge, instead you get woken up at 6am and attempt to drag bub into bed with you in hopes of a little more sleep only to have her pull your hair and hit you in the face until you finally get up and make her some breakfast.

Then it’s play time while she climbs all over you. Build block tower. Read book. Race cars along the floor. What’s that you want to be picked up? Oh, you want to be put down again.

You hold out til that sweet time of 10am – nap time, after a long battle to get a screaming bub to bed you finally get the chance to collapse on the lounge for a half hour… the washing can remain unwashed for one day right? No, that’d just mean an extra load to put on tomorrow…. and you should probably tidy up the Duplo strewn across the floor while you quickly down your now cold coffee.

10.30 am hits and bub is awake again and so it repeats.

At some point you lie down on the couch and close your eyes for one second only to open then again to see the little girl has climbed her way up onto the TV unit. Good thing you bracketed that baby to the wall last week!

Why do they insist on getting themselves into more trouble than usual when you have less energy to chase them?

There’s no rest for the mother right? No days off from motherhood.

It’s days like this I wish I was back working already so I could go to work to get some rest… or if I’m lucky I could take the day off while my girl was in daycare and catch up on some rest.

Thank god for grandparents though right? I’m so lucky my parents could look after the koala while I dragged my sick sorry arse to the doctor for some antibiotics. I actually felt a bit guilty going to the doctor.. what if it’s just a virus again and I’m asking my parents to watch the Koala and all her energising craziness for nothing.

Sometimes it feels impossible to take time to wallow when you’re a mum. There’s always that little person who needs looking after more than you do.

Now if there’s ever a time you really want to wean bub off breastfeeding, it’s when you’re sick. You can’t take the usual antibiotics and the alternative, while curing the tonsillitis will give you an upset stomach for the next week… greeaaaattttt. Add to that, it’ll give bub an upset stomach for the next week. Yippee! Because she doesn’t poo enough already!

So this time it’s not just a virus… but let’s pretend it’s just a cold so I can get on with caring for that smiling little person who relies on me 100%. I’ll just cough and moan quietly while building my 20th tower of blocks that she knocks straight down or while making lunch for the bub, taking the time to painstakingly cut it up into little pieces while she yells at me to feed her faster. She’ll never know I’m sick.

Oh the joys of children… why can’t she let me suffer in peace.

Now I sit here reminiscing about those days years ago before kids, when I was sick…

…those were the days.

Can you relate? Please SHARE in the comments below.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock.com