A Mom’s Guide for How to be Sick
Hey mom, did you forget how to be sick? Are you feeling under the weather from that virus your cute little walking petrie dish brought home from school? The one that everyone else in the house has had and you have taken care of them through it? Don’t forget that you need to take care of yourself too!! Here are 5 must follow tips to being a sick mom:
1.) Call out of work!! Take a day at home to yourself and don’t use it to catch up on housework, laundry, or any other tasks that “need” to get done. They can wait or you can ask dad to do them! You will have to let go HOW things need to be done. Let others help you, it will be good for them too.
2.) Tell dad you need rest….that’s right Mom…YOU NEED REST! You need to take some down time and give your body time to rest and recover from this just the same as everyone else in your family did. Dad can handle everything while you take a break. Will it all be done exactly like you would do it….no probably not….but that’s ok because you aren’t doing yourself or anyone else any favors by not getting better quickly. So grab a book, your Ipad, or just your pillow, and GO LAY DOWN!!
3.) Drink your fluids! Especially if you have a fever, please drink water, tea, a sports drink, something that is hydrating and refreshing! Even soup broth is good, especially if you are congested or not really eating anything else.
4.) Give yourself time to recover. As mom’s we always put our husband and children ahead of ourselves, this is a beautiful trait of being a wife and mother, but we have to remember that there is no medal for doing it all and driving yourself to the point of exhaustion without giving yourself the break. We feel guilty for sitting down and taking time off, guilty that the dishes are in the sink or that our mother-in-law is taking the baby to swim practice. It’s ok, mom, in fact necessary to not only take care of others but let them take care of you as well. If gives them a sense of purpose and it let’s them remember just how much you do around here!
5.) Don’t be afraid to say “NO”. You are just finally feeling a little better when the “insert group name” is calling about an event tomorrow that someone else cancelled on because they are sick. “Can you help?”, you CAN say “NO”, in fact you should. You aren’t out of the woods yet and even if you followed all of these steps, its likely that you didn’t take enough time and get as much rest as you truly needed. Not only can you not do it all…..you don’t have to. Cut yourself some slack.
Now that you have taken a day or five, whatever was needed, and are feeling like yourself again then you can get out there and tackle the world once class project, family budget, and board meeting at a time like the super mom that you are!
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