I got this Untimely Terrible Infection a few weeks ago. And like a brave mom, I tried to take care of my malady at home, quietly instead of with a quick trip to the doctor’s office. I drank gallons of cranberry juice and water and gained ten pounds but that didn’t save my kidneys from the spread of the Untimely Terrible Infection.
And wouldn’t you know it? My toddlers could all sense my pain… and they did their best to maximize it.
The four-year old kept jumping on the sofa jostling my poor throbbing kidneys. Every time I tried to sit somewhere more stable, the two-year old would climb up behind me and plant his feet firmly on either side of my lower spine.
How do kids know? My aches and pains are like a kid magnet!
It’s like having a sunburn on your back and suddenly everybody you know is patting it.
Or having a blister on your toe and kids keep stepping on your feet. I could stand on hot coals and fare better than I would around my children.
Why do moms put off caring for themselves? Why do we put off going to the doctor? Do we have some kind of martyr gene?
We are often the last ones on our list of people to care for or think of. Just check out your holiday gift-giving list the next time you write one. There’s the grill for your husband, the books for your kids, cookies for every neighbor and acquaintance you ever made, not to mention cards to over 200 people you’re not sure you could even recognize on the street.
But where’s the little something for Mom?
Look at Dad’s list. He’s buying Mom an electric saw. He is giving her the gift of him building her a patio enclosure. That’s pretty shrewd. Last year he gave her an electric drill so he could build her a greenhouse.
Likewise, Mom COULD give Dad the gift of a slinky negligee — and sometimes she does — but the truly SELFISH for-mom-ONLY present — What is that?
You begin to think about that when your kidneys are throbbing. For me those are organs just a bit too close to the area of my body that ached and carried these children for nine-months. Somewhere along the line, those happy bundles of joy stole our two-hour bubble baths from us. And how many Moms have you heard utter, “What’s a novel?”
So, while I was sitting there in my misery with this Untimely Terrible Infection, I thought about myself. It was time to do a little pampering. So I bought the pair of ceramic chickens at the thrift store that I’d been keeping my eye on. Of course, like a true mom, I made sure they were sale items discounted at fifty percent.
I also bought a pint of sorbet and, you guessed it, as soon as I walked in the door there were kid eyes trained on my package, completely oblivious to my Untimely Terrible Infection.
Of course I shared. I am a mom, after all.
(Jelly Mom is written by Lisa Barker, a busy mom of five, and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent to Parent. To read more, visit www.JellyMom.com.)
